WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Parks and Recreation Commission further solidified the final look of “Watsonville Brillante” at its Monday night meeting in the City Council Chambers.
The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the next two large vertical images for the 12,500-square-foot mosaic that over the next five years will cover the exterior of the six-story Civic Plaza parking garage at the intersection of Rodriguez and Second streets.
The two approved images from renowned Chicano artist Juan Fuentes, a Watsonville native, titled “El Cielo” and “Hermanita” will be recreated in 30-by-70 foot sections to serve will as anchors for the $1.5 million project spearheaded by local artist Kathleen Crocetti.
Those images beat six others—also from Fuentes—in a public poll conducted from Dec. 15-Feb. 15. The public voted both online and in person, and more than 2,200 votes were cast, according to Crocetti.
Both received more than 400 votes apiece.
“We only did this voting for two months,” Crocetti said. “We’ve done a really good job with outreach and becoming more visible.”
Fuentes made “El Cielo”’ specifically for the second round of voting after the public called for more diversity in the images that were presented during the first round. The black and white work depicts a man reaching through branches to pick an apple, a crop once synonymous with the agriculture-rich region.
“We are so excited about this depiction of a universal man,” Crocetti said. “With no identifiers for culture, color or race.”
They will join “Strawberry Picker” as one of four major images for the project. That work was approved by the commission in August and is currently under construction at the Muzzio Park Community Center, just a few blocks away from the Civic Plaza down Rodriguez Street.
“Strawberry Picker” will be installed later this month by Rinaldi Tile and Marble free of cost.
Crocetti believes it could be up by the first week of May.
The fourth and final large vertical portion of the project will be an original work from Fuentes, a 1969 Watsonville High School graduate. It will be 60-by-70 and face Second Street.
Crocetti said that image will be based on Fuentes’ extended family, which is of Asian descent.
That work will require approval from the Commission.
The 185 smaller horizontal sections ranging from 3.5-by-4 to 3.5-by-10 will represent the cultural heritages of different Watsonville families. Each section will be placed next to another that shares some cultural aspect, so that the patterns flow and to show the connections in the community.
Residents looking to be represented in those sections must take a survey. Find the survey here: https://bit.ly/2PZ2CiH.
Local artists have been invited to submit images for those sections. That “Call to Artists” due date was extended from Sept. 26, 2019 to June 8, 2020. Find the call here: https://bit.ly/2wtqnYV.
It is open to Watsonville residents or people living within a 10-mile radius of the city’s limits.
Artists selected will receive $100 for their first drawing and $50 for every subsequent work.
The Watsonville City Council unanimously approved “Watsonville Brillante” in early 2019, and also ratified an agreement with Crocetti that allowed her to lease the Muzzio Park Community Center for $1 a year over five years.
The City also waived the estimated $10,500 building permit fees and will spend $60,000 to prepare the concrete surface for installation through pressure washing and sandblasting.
Fuentes specializes in woodblock prints that depict the growth and history of the Chicano/Latinx movement. For years he worked as an artist and cultural activist in San Francisco and owns his own printmaking studio, Pajaro Editions.
