The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Art of Giving: The three students who crafted this mural at Sacred Heart Center were aided by a donation from an artist who works for San Jose's Anti-Graffiti Program.

Adult students let their artwork speak for them

By Christine Frey

Although the three artists struggle to express themselves in English, their mural speaks for them; they are reflected in the multicolored immigrants who adorn the walls of the Sacred Heart Center on Willow Street. Holding hands, these painted people tell of their hopes for cultural understanding and unity.

"[The mural] depicts their feelings and thoughts and showcases their talent," says Lynda Sayre, an English as a Second Language teacher at the center and organizer of the project.

Dedicated June 5, the work of art is the creation of five students from the Metropolitan Adult Education Program, which offers ESL and business preparation classes at the center.

Spanning the outer walls of the main office, the mural consists of three scenes. In the middle panel, immigrants hold hands and border a hemisphere of the world. A globe, book and candle are drawn in the foreground of a nature scene in the left panel. In the right panel, Jesus and the Virgin Mary stand among the clouds. Mexican symbols border the three scenes.

At least three of the five artists had never painted before. "If you really, really want to do something, you can," says Berniece Delgado, 18, who spent six months designing the mural with the other artists.

Fellow painter Iris Altamirano is happy with the group's effort. "For [being] the first time, it's good," the 22-year-old says in Spanish.

Sayre wants to expand the mural down the second-floor hallway and is seeking approval from Sacred Heart Parish, which owns the building.

If the expansion is permitted, artist Teresa Madrigal, 49, hopes more students from the program will lend their artistic skills to the project. "I wish all the students could get motivated and participate in it," a translator for Madrigal says.

Irene Velazquez and Jose Luis Barajas, who also painted the mural, were unavailable for comment.

Sayre says the mural would not have been possible without the "life-saving" gift from Paul Gonzalez, who works for San Jose's Anti-Graffiti Program. Gonzalez, an artist himself, donated paint from his personal supply.

Sayre and the artists were overwhelmed by his generosity. "They said, 'You're from heaven,' and I said, 'No, I'm from San Jose,'" Gonzalez laughs.

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