Memories of La Puente

Artist: Márquez, Álvaro D. b. 1981

Date: 2025

Medium: Acrylic paint on plaster

Artwork Dimensions: 54 x 8 ft.

County Department: Parks and Recreation

Artwork Site: Bassett Park

Supervisorial District: 1

Current Status: On view

About the Artwork: <em>Memories of La Puente</em> is a three-panel linocut-based mural that was designed in consultation with local residents, and which captures three distinct eras in the shaping of the Bassett and La Puente communities. With one panel referencing the Tongva settlement of Awigna, which existed prior to the establishment of Rancho La Puente, the mural honors the area's first inhabitants while acknowledging the subsequent settlers who developed the surrounding communities. A second panel makes references to the history of agricultural production that was centered in the area in the early 20th century, where the land was fertile and used for walnut and avocado production. A third, center panel refers to contemporary activities in the area, like the popular swap meet across from Bassett Park, as well as the vibrant culture of keeping horses for which the surrounding areas are known.

About the Artist: &Aacute;lvaro Daniel M&aacute;rquez (b. 1981, Salinas, CA) is a multi-disciplinary artist whose artistic practice encompasses printmaking, mixed media, installation, and public art. Their artwork centers on the overlapping regimes of displacement that have shaped the American West, including Spanish colonization, Mexican statehood, and Yankee settlement after the U.S.-Mexico War, all of which produced different forms of displacement for Indigenous and Mexican residents of LA County. As a research-based artist, &Aacute;lvaro delves into archival sources to uncover forgotten histories and to elucidate the relationship between these historical periods, and the ways in which they have shaped contemporary issues like redlining and segregation, homelessness, and gentrification. &Aacute;lvaro earned his BA in Modern American History with Honors from Brown University in 2003, as well as an MA in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California in 2011, and an MFA in Printmaking from California State University, Long Beach in 2020. Their work can be found in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the US Library of Congress, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin, and the UC Santa Barbara California Ethnic Multicultural Archives. &Aacute;lvaro has also taught at several local universities like the University of Southern California, CSU Los Angeles, and CSU Long Beach. They live and work in the San Gabriel community of Alhambra.