Have you seen "América Tropical"? It's a mural at ElPuebloLA in Downtown Los Angeles painted by Mexican artist and muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. It's over 80 feet long! Painted in 1932, it was meant to portray an idealized vision of Mexico for Olvera Street, the Mexican-themed marketplace in Los Angeles. It was the height of the Great Depression, a time when many Mexicans were being deported. Siqueiros chose to tell the story of the impact of Imperialism in Latin America. Deemed to be too controversial, the mural was white-washed. In the 1960s, the Chicano mural movement revitalized interest in the mural’s preservation. Starting in 1988, Getty worked with ElPuebloLA to conserve the mural, construct a protective canopy, provide access to the public, and tell its story through exhibits in the America Tropical Interpretive Center. It was unveiled to the public again in 2012. The story teaches us not only about the past, but also about the legacy Siqueiros left—which continues in a ...