The Brief

A little piece of Los Angeles history is hiding in plain sight on L.A.'s Olvera Street. It's a mural by the great Mexican artist David Siqueiros, and it's called "América Tropical." The work was painted by Siqueiros in 1932, but less than a year later, it was whitewashed because of its political message.

Now the mural has since been restored. A new documentary that debuts today looks at this history and the legacy of "América Tropical." It's called América Tropical: the Martyr Mural of Siqueiros. Nic Cha Kim is the senior producer of arts and culture at KCET and one of the producers of the film. LAist's Nick Roman interviewed him about the documentary. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

LAist: Siqueiros was one of three great Mexican muralists, along with Diego Rivera and José Orozco. What brought Siqueiros to Los Angeles?

Nic Cha Kim: Well, he was invited, actually, to paint this mural. There was an entrepreneur by the name of Christine Sterling, who had envisioned Olvera Street kind of as a theme park for locals and tourists to almost visit Mexico without having to go visit Mexico.

So they asked Siqueiros to paint this mural — like a tropical setting — as a way to attract visitors in time for the upcoming Olympics of 1932.

LAist: Describe América Tropical. I mean, it gets painted, it's there, and then someone decides to whitewash it. What was behind that decision?

NCK: That's right. Originally, they thought that he would paint something that would attract tourists. Something tropical, so to speak. But in secret, he really wanted to paint something else. Something that had a message.

What he did was he painted an image of an Indigenous Native being crucified on a cross, and there was an American eagle above him. And off to the side, there are these snipers, assassins, with their rifles pointed directly at them. And it's immediately clear when you view the mural that it's a message against imperialism and capitalism. And when Christine Sterling saw this, she understood right away that it was not something that she originally wanted. So that's what happened.

LAist: And then it gets whitewashed. It's it's out of sight for many decades. Then it's rediscovered. It's restored. Tell us about that process.

NCK: It's a decades long process actually, you know during the Chicano movement in the 60s. There was a lot of activity. There was a lot of interest in the mural. They wanted to restore it, actually. They wanted to remove the whitewash. They wanted to repaint it. But Siqueiros actually put a stop to that, because he understood the power of showing what happened to it, the erasure of it. So he forbade them from repainting over what happened to his mural.

So that's in the 60s. Now in '88, the Getty gets involved. They decide, "Well, we can't repaint it, but let's preserve what's there. Let's bring it back out." So they painstakingly study the mural and figure out what they can do. So they built a shade structure. They look at the infrastructure of the building and they also build a museum two buildings down that they call the América Tropical Interpretive Center. And they built a viewing deck so visitors can just come for free, climb up to the rooftop, and actually see the mural for themselves in its current state. It's like a ghostly image because it's no longer vibrant. You can just barely see it, but you do see it.

LAist: Talk about his influence Siqueiros has today on muralists.

NCK: That's actually a big part of the story. What we do [in the documentary] is we meet with contemporary muralists working today. We meet with a group called 3B Collective. We meet with an artist named Erin Yoshi. And we meet with Fabian Debora from Homeboy Arts Academy.

What's interesting about what Siqueiros did is he actually pioneered the use of spray paint. That's something that's very common nowadays with muralists, but that kind of technology didn't exist back then. He was using paint sprayers. He was using projection systems, projectors that he had borrowed from MGM Studios. And that was very controversial back then. Muralists or artists would say, "That's cheating." But nowadays that's very common. That's something that muralists do all the time.

The most important thing is the idea of a mural as an art form that conveys history. They tell stories — it isn't just a pretty image. There's always a message behind a mural. And that's what these artists, when they study Siqueiros, that's what they try to incorporate in their own work.

América Tropical: The Martyr Mural of Siqueiros premieres Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 9 p.m. on KCET / Friday, Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal.

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican army killed the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho, " in an operation Sunday, a federal official said.

The official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said it happened during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco.

It followed several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations.

Videos circulating social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the city of Puerto Vallarta, a major city in Jalisco, and sprinting through the airport of the state's capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta "due to an ongoing security situation" and advised customers not to go to their airport.

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fasted growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.

In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

It has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military—including helicopters—and a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital's police force and now head of federal security.

The DEA considers this cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states where it distributes tons of drugs. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines.

Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.
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Hermon — Some shoppers heading into Fresco Market were lost in their phones, but when they momentarily looked up, they were greeted by a flap of brilliant green feathers and a cheery squawk. Phones were put away.

“Pepe! Hey Pepe! So good to see you!”

Perched on the shoulder of T.J. Gonzalez, Pepe the Parrot was in full greeter mode. Wide-eyed and seeming to almost smile as he surveyed the parking lot and his approaching public, Pepe did what he naturally does: make people happy.

A common sight at the Hermon market, near where they live, Gonzalez and Pepe can also be found at community centers, farmers’ markets and local events. They often take the Metro into downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach and other locations.

There’s no money asked, stressed Gonzalez, adding that Pepe simply adores the attention. “People want to see and talk with him more than me,” he joked as he cracked a nut and placed it in his mouth. On cue, the bird reached around Gonzalez’s mouth to retrieve it.

Michael Eagle-Hall of El Sereno is delighted to meet Pepe outside of the Fresco Market in Hermon.

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Brenda Rees

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The Eastsider

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A mail carrier for 37 years before he retired, Gonzalez found Pepe, a red-crowned Amazon (flocks are often seen in Northeast L.A.) in July 2021. The chick had fallen out of a nest and was flailing on a busy street in San Marino. “He was like roadkill,” said Gonzalez, who watched cars drive over (without striking) the bird.

Gonzalez retrieved the parrot and looked for help, but wildlife rehabbers said they’d euthanize the bird since it had a broken wing. Gonzalez instead brought him to a vet and christened him Pepe.

Since Pepe could not fly, Gonzalez started walking him around the neighborhood. He soon discovered how kids and adults enjoyed interacting with the parrot. Pepe is also a social media darling, with more than 8,600 followers on Instagram.

Pepe is more of a squawker than a talker, but Gonzalez has learned how to art-direct photos of people and the bird, instructing them on how to hold their hands and arms best. “We just want that smile because that’s all that Pepe wants from you,” said Gonzalez.

Crews have now recovered the bodies of all nine backcountry skiers who were killed in an avalanche in Northern California earlier this week. It marks an end to what authorities on Saturday described as an agonizing five-day search and recovery operation complicated by intense winter storms northwest of Lake Tahoe.

"While we wish we could have saved them all, we are grateful that we can bring them home," said Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon during a Saturday news conference.

Until Saturday, authorities had not confirmed the death of a ninth victim, a skier who had been missing and presumed dead. Officials say their body was found near the eight other victims that have now been recovered. Authorities said avalanche hazards and weather conditions were too dangerous most of the week to search for the remaining victim or recover the bodies.

Four of the bodies were recovered on Friday, and the rest of the bodies were recovered on Saturday, all in the Castle Peak area where the avalanche – one of the deadliest in California history — struck. Six people from the group of 15 skiers survived Tuesday's disaster, the last day of a three-day backcountry ski trip. One guide and five travelers were among the survivors.

Helicopters with the California National Guard as well as the California Highway Patrol were used to hoist the remaining bodies from the mountain, officials said at the press conference.

On Friday, officials were able to use specialized techniques with the help of Pacific Gas & Electric to reduce the avalanche risk.

The ski trip was organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides, an outdoor tour company based in Truckee, Calif. Moon confirmed the identities of the victims. Three guides were killed: Andrew Alissandratos, 34, from Verdi, Nev.; Michael Henry, 30, from Soda Springs, Calif.; and Nicole Choo, 42, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The other victims, who had signed up for the group trip, are: Carrie Atkin, 46, of Soda Springs; Lizabeth Clabaugh, 52, of Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, of Soda Springs and Larkspur, Calif.; Kate Morse, 45, of Soda Springs and Tiburon, Calif.; Caroline Sekar, 45, of Soda Springs and San Francisco; and Katherine Vitt, 43, of Greenbrae, Calif.

The Sierra Avalanche Center classified the avalanche between a D2 and D3 on the avalanche danger scale.

"A D2 would take down a person. A D3 would take down a house, so it was right in between those. It was described by them as a football field length of a path of the avalanche," Sheriff Moon said on Saturday.

Multiple agencies are investigating.

"We are investigating the incident to determine if there were any factors that would be considered criminal negligence," Ashley Quadros with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office said in an email to NPR on Sunday. "It is a standard investigation. It is too early to know if criminal charges will be applicable, as the investigation is preliminary and remains active and ongoing."

The area will be closed to visitors for several weeks.
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