EL PASO CAR SHOW - 5th Annual Corazon De El Paso Art & Car Show

Lincoln Park Day
5th Annual Corazon De El Paso Art & Car Show

By. D. Arredondo
Photos by: Ismael Garcia and Green Ant

The Lincoln Park Conservation Committee and Latin Pride Car Club presented the 5th Annual Lincoln Park Day this Sunday 20th, 2009 at Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas. The show was in benefit of the LP committee which aims to preserve and beautify the historical park and all of its vivid murals. The Lincoln Park Conservation Committee is a non-profit organization maintained by a team of Fire fighters, law enforcement officials, artists, writers,and other professionals.

The LPCC, Latin Pride Car Club and Gabriel Gaytan, who is also a member of the parks committee dedicated a new mural titled: “El Corazon de El Paso” to the park and the community of El Paso. “El Corazon de El Paso” symbolizes the park, which sits in the center of the city below freeways US 54 and I-10. The main image is a human heart with highway arteries extending in all directions.

“This spreading looping of highways gives the effect of spaghetti, thus in El Paso, this area is referred to as the “Spaghetti Bowl.” Stated a press release submitted by the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee.

The park, which is located in the core of El Paso, comforted thousands of spectators with its canopy of tall healthy trees, mural down pillars and acres of plush green grass. Dozens of local and out of state car clubs supported the event by featuring their first class bombs, custom lowriders, U.S. military Humvees, a classic fire truck, hot rods, motorcycles and SUV’s. The show was topped off with DJ, live music, poetry, Aztec, Matachines and Florklorio dance performances, as well as art, photography and modeling exhibitions by Gabriel Gaytan, Vaboom Studios, Oscar Moya, Ximenez Photography , L.B. McKay, Vaboom Studios and California artists, Felipe Adame and Convicted Artist.

Poets Griselda Liz Munoz and Ray Ramos intrigued spectators with passionate poetry while El Paso City Representive Emma Acosta thanked the LPCC for its humble efforts in taking a step in preserving Lincoln Park.

History on the Murals at Lincoln Park
By Miguel Juarez
Lincoln Park Conservation Committee, El Paso, Texas

Bobby Aduato, then director of the Lincoln Center asked Felipe Adame to paint the first murals on the pillars under the Spaghetti Bowl by Lincoln Center in 1983. Adame painted the mural “Virgen de Guadalupe with Roses” in 1981 with his son. Adame sought to paint murals at the Lincoln Center like the murals in Chicano Park in San Diego, California. Adame has been involved in the painting of murals at Chicano Park in San Diego for many years.

In 1999, Carlos Callejo and Rosa Valenzuela, under the auspices of the Juntos Art Association, proposed and completed a mural project in conjunction with the Private Industry Council (PIC). The project proposed to work with 80 sponsored art classes from various school districts; they also produced a video on creation of the murals and sponsored art classes at the Lincoln Center. The project hired five artists to work with them in producing the murals. The artists were Cesar Inostroza, Fabian Arraiza, Steve Salazar, and tow women who were not artists but youth supervisors. Inostroza and Callejo continued painting murals after funding for the project ended. Callejo said each row of columns was dedicated to various themes, one row was titled “Memorial Walk” and was dedicated to “Natural Elements:” Mother Earth, Father Sun, etc…
Callejo organized a community group that included individuals from the neighborhood to approve the themes for the murals.

History

of Lincoln Park Day
By Hector Gonzales, President
Lincoln Park Conservation Committee, El Paso, Texas

“Lincoln Park Day” was first organized in 2005 by Latin pride Car Club. The theme for the 2009 Lincoln Park Day is “El Corazon de El Paso”. The event, held at Lincoln Park, 4001 Durazno has drawn over 100 exhibitors, as well as, over 30 out-of-town exhibitors. We also provided local non-profit community groups and agencies with space at the event to promote their organizations. The annual event was modeled around the “Chicano Park Day” event held annually at San Diego, California that features art and community booths. Some of the exhibitors to participate in the Lincoln Park Day include: the National Marrow Donor program, the American Cancer Society, the Police department Explorers from the El Paso Central command.

The Lincoln Park Conservation Committee
By Hector Gonzales, President
Lincoln Park Conservation Committee, El Paso, Texas

The Lincoln Park Conservation Committee or LPCC is presently working under the umbrella of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and exists to promote culture, traditions and heritage via artistic expression and public art thru public awareness and maintenance of Lincoln Park. The LPCC seeks to promote Lincoln Park as a nexus of the Latino community in El Paso and as “El Corazon de El Paso”. It purports to accomplish this purpose through advocacy, the creation and maintenance of community murals, the annual Lincoln Park Day and via other projects.

"Convicted Artist Worldwide Social Art Network"