Siqueiros Mural Shelter

Upon his expulsion from Mexico in 1932 for radical political militancy, artist David Alfaro Siqueiros came to Los Angeles for six months. During that brief time, he completed three murals, but the most significant was his second: América Tropical. The 80×18 foot mural was painted on the second-story exterior wall of the Italian Hall, located on Olvera Street in the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical District. América Tropical is the oldest existing mural in L.A. and the only mural by Siqueiros in the United States still in its original location.

Known formally as América Tropical: Oprimida y Destrozada por los Imperialismos (“Tropical America: Oppressed and Destroyed by Imperialism”), the mural was a powerful political statement on U.S. Imperialism in Latin America. América Tropical also marked a developmental shift in the artist’s career. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, Siqueiros established “Mexican Muralism.” The tradition continues in Mexico today and inspired the Chicano art movement in the U.S.

América Tropical was rediscovered in the late ’60s as the whitewash began to peel off, revealing Siqueiros’ hidden work. The mural was restored by the Getty Conservation Institute and opened to the public in October 2012, 80 years to the day of its original unveiling.

In addition to conservation of the mural, the América Tropical project includes a protective shelter, public viewing platform and an Interpretive Center.