{"id":394677,"date":"2026-07-11T12:28:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394677\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T12:28:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:28:32","slug":"original-muralists-return-to-balmy-alley-with-grant-to-save-their-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394677\/","title":{"rendered":"Original muralists return to Balmy Alley with grant to save their work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Balmy Alley, off 24th Street, is often filled with tourists from around the globe, sometimes with a guide<\/a> from Precita Eyes Muralists, slowly walking through the mural-lined street and posing for photos in front of the artworks on garages and the sides of\u00a0 homes. <\/p>\n

Through these visits, visitors\u00a0 hope to understand the passions and beliefs of the neighborhood muralists who, for decades, have been telling stories through their art.<\/p>\n

The alley has been a cultural centerpiece of the Mission for more than five decades, but it has seen\u00a0 better days. Many of the murals are fading and decaying, and the wall at the entrance where Taqueria Vallarta stands is often covered in graffiti.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A pedestrian stops by to admire the crackled murals in Balmy Alley on July 6, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our culture, and it\u2019s a shame because we are not presenting ourselves as well as we could,\u201d said Don Francisco, the owner of Taqueria Vallarta.<\/p>\n

That could change soon. Artist Tirso Gonzalez and \u201cmural doctor\u201d Yano Rivera<\/a> have been awarded a Community Challenge Grant from the city for up to $129,294 to restore six murals \u2014 five in Balmy Alley and one in the mini-park at 24th and York streets. <\/p>\n

To do the work, they have invited a group of the original artists to restore their own murals, among them Juana Alicia Araiza, Betsy Miller-Kusz, Irene Perez, Hector Escarram\u00e1n and Josue Rojas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This grant establishes what project directors Gonzalez and Rivera hope will be the first of many large-scale projects to conserve and restore murals in the Mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery mural we lose, we lose our legacy and historical memory,\u201d said Gonzalez, a Mexican artist who has been involved in San Francisco\u2019s art scene since the 1980s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The murals of Balmy Alley began in the 1970s, when \u201cmujeres muralistas<\/a>\u201d wanted to clean up the alleyway and painted feminist murals to show Chicana\/Latina culture and prove that women could create large outdoor murals. <\/p>\n

One of the artists in this group, Irene Perez, is returning\u00a0to restore a 1972 mural of hers, \u201cCoyolxauhqui has Something to Say,\u201d a mural to honor the Aztec goddess of the Moon, which includes the phrases referencing to 500 years of Native American resistance and survival accompanied with the dates 1492-1992.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the decades, the murals in the alley have reflected different cultural moments. In the 1980s, when many Central Americans were fleeing violence in their home countries, muralists showed the wars, indigenous cultures, and resistance of Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the Balmy Alley murals that will be restored\u00a0is the 1966 \u201cNo One Should Obey an Unjust Law,\u201d<\/a> by Juana Alicia Araiza, a longtime Mission muralist and educator who now splits her time between Berkeley and Mexico. <\/p>\n

The mural depicts El Salvador\u2019s Monse\u00f1or \u00d3scar Romero, a Catholic archbishop and human-rights activist\u00a0murdered in 1980 as he held mass at the cathedral in San Salvador.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More recently, muralists have addressed gentrification<\/a> in the Mission and police violence. In 2019, Gonzalez\u2019s daughter Lucia Ippolito<\/a> painted a mural in Balmy Alley about gentrification.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ABalmy Alley mural titled \u201cCoyolxauhqui has Something to Say,\u201d painted in 1972 by artist Irene Perez, pictured on July 6, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.\"ColorfulMural titled \u201cTierra de Amate Cielo de Amate,\u201d painted in 1990 by artist Betsie Miller-Kusz, pictured on July 9, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.\"\"Balmy Alley mural titled \u201cIcons of Mexican Art,\u201d painted in 1995 by artist Hector Escarram\u00e1n, pictured on July 6, 2026. Hector plans to return to restore his own mural. Photo by Zoe Malen.\"\"Balmy Alley mural titled \u201cNo One Should Comply with an Immoral Law,\u201d painted in 1996 by artist Juana Alicia, pictured on July 9, 2026. This mural will be transfered to a complete different wall in the alley. Photo by Zoe Malen.\"\"\u201cNew Dawn,\u201d a Balmy Alley mural painted in 2002 by Irish artist Martin Travers and Naya Bihana, pictured on July 6, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen.\"\"Balmy Alley mural titled \u201cEnrique\u2019s Journey,\u201d painted in 2012 by artist Josue Rojas, pictured on July 6, 2026. Josue plans to return to restore his own mural. Photo by Zoe Malen.\"\"On a Balmy Alley mural titled \u201cEnrique\u2019s Journey\u201d there is a painted train to represent the journey that many call \u201cLa Bestia,\u201d meaning \u201cThe Beast.\u201d Many children would ride alone on top of trains without their parents to get to their destination. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n

The Community Challenge Grant was established in 1991 through a voter initiative allowing businesses to put a portion of their gross receipts taxes into a \u201cbeautification fund.\u201d City administrator Carmen Chu said that $3.3 million in funding went to 25 different projects this year.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez and Rivera are in the process of getting permission from the Balmy Alley property owners, who have to approve the restoration efforts for murals painted on their homes or garage doors. They will also paint a new mural on the side of Taqueria Vallarta, a wall that has been notorious for graffiti.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez plans to depict a rural scene of Jalisco there, with a focus on the corn god, and an homage to Mexican music bands in the Mission.<\/p>\n

\"ATirso Gonzalez, co-director of the mural restoration project, on July 6, 2026 unrolling his proposal for the mural he plans to paint at the corner of Balmy Alley. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n

\"ATirso Gonzalez, co-director of the mural restoration project, on July 6, 2026 holding his proposal for the mural he plans to paint at the wall behind him in Balmy Alley. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n

For Gonzalez\u00a0 and Rivera the Balmy Alley restorations are only the beginning. They hope to create a preservation team focused on restoring more decaying Mission murals in need of love and attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first step. This alley and the whole neighborhood need so much more,\u201d said Ippolito.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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