Read this excerpt from "Painting Freedom on the Walls.” When a wave of Mexican settlers began to come to San Diego in the 1890s,
many of them made their home in an area known as Logan Heights. Soon that area was called Barrio Logan. (In Spanish, a barrio is a neighborhood.) At first, Barrio Logan was a neighborhood of homes and shops that stretched from well inland all the way to San Diego Bay, and the people had access to the beach. Then, during World War II, the beach was closed. In the 1950s, the city changed the zoning of the area so that industry could move into the neighborhood. Soon, the barrio was spotted with noisy, dirty junkyards. In the 1960s, Interstate 5 and ramps for the San Diego-Coronado Bridge cut Barrio Logan in half. About 5,000 homes were destroyed in the process. By this time, the residents were very angry about the terrible damage to their barrio. They protested loudly. Finally, the City Council of San Diego promised them a park to help make up for the damage. The council set aside land for that purpose. And then, in 1970, bulldozers arrived to turn the land into a parking lot. A student, Mario Solis, saw them, asked what was going on, and started spreading the word. Within a few hours, there were 250 people in the park, blocking the bulldozers. The people of Barrio Logan won their battle and got their park. They planted cactus and other native plants, but there was something missing. An artist named Salvador Torres came up with the idea of putting murals on the concrete pillars that supported the freeway. Chicano Park was born. The murals of Chicano Park are filled with the colors, the history, and the heroes of Mexican America. They are painted by professional artists and by community groups. There is even one mural painted entirely by children. They are visible reminders of the Mexican cultural heritage of the city. Which choice is the best summary of the excerpt? My favorite part of this story is the example of Mario Solis, who blocked bulldozers. Solis did this so an unattractive parking lot would not be built in Barrio Logan. Murals are an important way to honor Mexican culture in California. Some murals are painted to depict Mexican-American heroes; others are painted by artists and even children. Residents in Barrio Logan were angry with negative changes in their neighborhood. They fought City Council for a local park and made it into a beautiful place. Barrio Logan is a neighborhood that was settled by Mexican immigrants in the 1890s. Homes and shops were built in this San Diego community, which was close to the beach.
