East San Jose community celebrates a new mural filled with symbolism

A new mural visible from Alum Rock Avenue includes some very symbolic and familiar images for the East San Jose community, and artist Edgar Ochoa says that was part of his vision for “Recuerdes de el Este.”

The mural — its title translates to “Memories of the East” — was unveiled with a festive ribbon-cutting event Friday. Three figures Ochoa painted harken back to both “Mural de la Raza,” an artwork on Story Road that was whitewashed by a building owner several years ago, and an mural that graced El Chaparral supermarket on East Santa Clara Street when the artist was growing up. The El Chapparal mural eventually faded and was painted over, but Ochoa said he hopes his work helps keep the memory of those murals alive.

“The reality is that this eventually is going to fade out, too, but those murals become part of the community. They have that deep tie and even as they fade out they become part of the essence of that block or neighborhood,” said Ochoa, who now works at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza and also teaches art.

Other images painted in Ochoa’s style using bright colors and bold lines include an Aztec temple, native Mexican and Californian plants like cacti and agave, the Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart, which Ochoa said represents the nonprofit Sacred Heart Community Service. The Mexican Heritage Plaza, Día de los Muertos and the San Jose Flea Market figure in there, too. The central image of a boy with his eyes closed was based on Ochoa himself, reflecting on the elements and memories he holds from East San Jose.

“This mural is extra special as it unifies the vulnerability, authenticity and realization of both art and advocacy, married into a physical representation of the past, the present and the future,” Councilmember Peter Ortiz said.

The new mural also contains an image of longtime community leader and activist Chava Bustamante shouting into a megaphone and carrying a United Farm Workers flag. During Friday’s ceremony, Bustamante said he was honored that his friend, Jesus Flores, executive director of the Latino Business Foundation, had suggested Ochoa include him in the mural.

“It is quite an honor to be part of this assortment of symbols of our community, and I hope the work that I’ve done serves as an inspiration to other people to learn that it’s up to us to deal with the issues that affect our lives,” said Bustamante, who worked in the fields as a teenager, later marched with Cesar Chavez and in 2013 founded Latinos United for a New America. “That if we don’t do it, nobody else is going to do it for us.”

“Recuerdes de el Este” is the latest example of an effort by the San Jose Sharks to bring new art to the South Bay. The Sharks Community Connections Mural Project worked with San Jose arts group Local Color to fund Ochoa’s mural and previously collaborated with the group on a mural at the Indian Health Center in Milpitas.

JUMPING FOR JOY: The frog-jumping Fasano family has added another world champion in the clan, and this time it’s 86-year-old San Jose resident Lillian Fasano, who became the oldest champ in the history of the Calaveras County frog-jumping championships on May 19. She also nearly took home the world record thanks to a jump of 20 feet 5.5 inches by her frog, “The Frog Father” — less than an inch off the current record.

Lillian Fasano is a founding member of the Gustine Frog Team that has turned competing in the frog jump into a real family tradition. The family has brought home first place trophies belonging to Lillian’s sons Frank (1979) and Bob (1998, 2004), as well as her husband, Gene Fasano (1988), her grandson Justin (2017) and great grand-nephew Nolan Moncref (2022). She had never finished higher than second.

“I finally got it, first place,” she said, who told her son Frank to make sure he didn’t pick a little frog for her. “He pulled
out a bigger frog for me, and it looked ready. I immediately thought this could be the winner!”

She beat out more than 3,000 other contestants — including a lot of family members — in the famed contest at the Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee contest at Angels Camp. She just hopes her children and grandchildren aren’t afraid she’s going to snag the $20,000 cash prize for breaking the world record next year.

READY FOR HER CLOSEUP: When Lorena Cortez was laid off from a tech job in San Jose last fall, she decided to put her newly discovered free time into a passion project, raising money for a short film she’s directing called “Copacabana” that will be made with a 90-percent female crew in San Jose, with all props and craft services sourced locally.

Cortez hopes to get filming done July 7-10 and is eyeing a February 2025 premiere. Of course, to make that happen, she needs to raise the final $12,000 toward her $30,000 goal. She’s hoping some of that happens at a wine-tasting event at Joseph George Fine Wines on Meridian Avenue on June 6, which is a perk for donors who give $40 or more to the project. Other levels will get you a seat at the premiere, a producer credit or even a set of stickers.

The whole project is being fiscally sponsored by Local Color, the nonprofit arts organization, so donations will be tax deductible. You can get more information at fundrazr.com/copafilm.com.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Legendary Grammy award-winning percussionist Pete Escovedo will perform a set at EPACENTER: Illuminated!, a fundraiser for the nonprofit creative youth development group in East Palo Alto, on June 1. Mason Bates, a Grammy award winner in his own right and composer of “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” for San Francisco Opera, is curating the evening, which will include immersive art, live classical music, electronica DJs and experimental visual arts. The top-shelf evening will include multicultural cuisine and drinks provided by McCall’s Catering, and tickets start at $1,000. Get more details at onecau.se/_4x5321.