Long Beach City College celebrated the unveiling of the first mural on campus, “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” by artist Paul Botello during a commemoration of inclusivity, community, and diversity on Tuesday.
LBCC’s first commissioned public art piece was unveiled on Mar. 12 at LBCC’s Liberal Arts Campus alongside the M building, catching the attention of faculty, students, alumni and city officials.
The unveiling included speeches from LBCC Board of Trustees members and artist Paul Botello along with traditional performances that encompass the diversity present on campus and the importance of representation followed by complementary food and refreshments.
Commencing with a land acknowledgment that LBCC lies on traditional ancestral land as a result of painful genocide, this was one of many cultural recognitions made during the ceremony.
“Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” represents all of the academic disciplines offered at LBCC, the idea that “your voice matters,” and how every aspect of campus life and individuality is embraced and included.
“It was a long process, but today we got the best result ever. I know that this is not the last time, and PCC campus will have a mural themselves. I think the commitment from the college to keep going shows that every single one will be fabulous,” said Griselda Suarez, Paul Botello’s former student and LBCC Art Council Chair.
A traditional blessing took place by Elder Virginia Carmelo, where she burned sage while audience members turned to face all four directions (East, South, West, North) to honor and remember ancestors and a Divine Creator.
“It was wonderful to spend time with President Muñoz and hear his vision, he brought the perfect group together to advocate for students to be involved – which was the most exciting part, seeing them so engaged and committed,” Suarez said.
“They had cultural stuff that I was not expecting. It was cool seeing other cultures like Asia being represented too,” said Inti Grijalva, LBCC student.
A continuation of cultural embrace took place through a classical Cambodian dance embodying the art of the Kumai by the Anchor Arts Collective who shared their rich culture and blessed the audience with happiness, prosperity, and success.
Francisco Baldonado, a member of the Justice Scholars Program, assisted Botello in creating the mural.
“When you love something, you do not feel it as something overwhelming because you are doing what you love. It feels good seeing people here because this is something I have been thinking of doing since I was a little kid and this inspired me to do more of what I love,” Baldonado said.
The unveiling evoked excitement towards the progress within LBCC to call for more artistic presence on campus through the work of Paul Botello in his mural “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.”