A mural project inspired Hermiston residents to paint shoulder to shoulder to send out a message about unity and togetherness in the Latino community.
More than 40 people volunteered July 27-31, to paint on the words “Hérmiston Unido” — Hermiston united — on the side building of 11th Street Market at 425 NW 11th St.
Bilingual Basketball Initiative co-director and former Irrigon boys basketball coach Mitch Thompson helped organize the community event along with Ricardo Torres, CEO of Eleva, and other community-based organizations.
Torres, of Mexico, is part of an art collective group whose mission is to bring sports, art and culture together around the world. He traveled from Mexico City, Mexico, to Hermiston to help curate the project, as part of a collaboration effort with Thompson’s Bilingual Basketball Initiative.
“I think it’s always good to bring people in from other places with new ideas and perspectives on life,” Thompson said.
Although Torres does not consider himself to be an artist, by using a projector he traced the font design on the building. And like a coloring book, he placed numbers on the letters and background for people to know which shade of paint needed to be applied on the mural.
“We guide but the town that paints together presents unity,” Torres said.
Torres explained the colors green, red, black and white symbolize three different cultural layers – the Mexican flag, Hermiston watermelons and agriculture. Furthermore the word Hermiston is written with a Spanish accent on top of the letter ‘e’ to spotlight the city’s Latino community pronunciation.
“The Latino community is growing more and more in Hermiston, Irrigon and Boardman,” Thompson said. “We strongly feel that representation matters in all aspects of life, leadership, schools, athletics and art.”
Local sponsors and community partners for the mural include the Hermiston Cultural Awareness Coalition, 11th Street Market, Jesse Torres State Farm, O So Kleen and Sherwin Williams.
Thompson expressed his gratitude to the community members who brought water and food during the event.
“It really felt like this is what a community is in real life,” Thompson said. “Change happens when we make it happen. That’s the point of our art, is bringing people together and trying to advance our community.”
The community mural was a partnership with Bilingual Basketball Initiative, which hit its fourth year in the courts. The camps, in English and Spanish, are for children kindergarten through 12th grade and are free for participants.
