Description
Chicano Park in Barrio Logan has been an important cultural hub in San Diego for decades. Located underneath the Coronado Bridge, it is best known for its large, vibrant murals that depict a variety of Chicana/o themes and are painted on the pillars that support the bridge and other elevated roadways. This project explores the arguments and messages that these murals and the park itself communicate using Sonja Foss’s theory of visual rhetoric as the primary lens. Although some scholarly material has been published on Chicano Park, using this particular rhetorical approach allows for a unique understanding of the space and the murals of Chicano Park and how they communicate ideas and core values of Barrio Logan residents and Chicana/os. Generally, this project illustrates the social significance and the rhetorical importance of urban visual artifacts such as Chicano Park and its murals. Specifically, this analysis unpacks the ways that the visual elements of Chicano Park and its murals tap into Chicana/o symbols cultural values in order to create compelling narratives and arguments about Chicana/o history and identity.
