| With over 600 murals, San Francisco streets are | | | | the murals feature cartoon-like illustrations that |
| a parade of vibrant and radiant murals that are | | | | playful and juvenile. Other murals along Balmy |
| painted on building walls and facades, fences, | | | | Alley grapple with difficult subjects, such as a |
| garage doors and more. The colorful Mission | | | | memorial to people who have died from AIDS or |
| District is the epicenter of San Francisco murals | | | | depictions of political strife and war in Latin |
| with the greatest concentration of murals in San | | | | America. Another mural honors the great muralist |
| Francisco. The San Francisco Mission | | | | Diego Rivera and his wife, the painter Frida Kahlo. |
| neighborhood's love affair with murals stems from | | | | And another is a tribute to women muralists of |
| the Mexican roots of the Mission District | | | | the Mission District. One colorless mural depicts |
| community. The Latino community began to | | | | two men and a woman jumping through a |
| move into in the Mission neighborhood in the | | | | barbed-wire fence lined with keys. The woman |
| 1950s and 60s. Early in the 1970s, resident | | | | has her hand held high, making the peace sign. |
| muralists started following the traditions of the | | | | Elsewhere in the Mission District on Harrison at |
| great muralists of the 1920s and 30s, perhaps the | | | | 19th Street, mixed among blocks of warehouses |
| most famous of which was Diego Rivera. | | | | and running along a wall for nearly a block in San |
| Discovering the murals of the San Francisco | | | | Francisco's Mission neighborhood is a mural titled |
| Mission District is discovering the hopes and | | | | "Carnaval." As the name implies, the Carnaval |
| passions, joys and tribulations of the people. The | | | | mural is a representation of the Carnaval |
| Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center | | | | celebration, a multicultural dance and music festival |
| (located at 2981 24th Street) is a great place to | | | | that has its roots in Latin America and the |
| begin your exploration of the murals in the San | | | | Caribbean. The San Francisco Mission District has |
| Francisco Mission neighborhood. The Precita Eyes | | | | been hosting a Carnaval Festival since 1978. |
| visitors center offers three guided mural tours on | | | | Created in 1994 by Joshua Sarantitis, Emmanuel |
| Saturday and Sunday for between $10 and $12 | | | | Montoya, Carlos Loarca and others, the radiant |
| for an adult. You can arrange private group mural | | | | Carnaval mural is as dynamic and colorful as the |
| tours in advance. In addition, the Precita Eyes | | | | festival that it portrays. The Women's Building |
| Visitors Center has a Mission mural map of nearly | | | | (located at 3543 18th Street) boasts two walls of |
| 90 murals that you can use to explore the | | | | a dramatic mural that pays homage to women. |
| neighborhood on your own. At Precita Eyes, you | | | | Created by a team of seven women muralists, |
| can purchase mural-themed items, such as post | | | | the "Maestrapeace" mural portrays women and |
| cards, candles, posters and books. Precita Eyes | | | | feminine archetypes of multiple world origins. The |
| also sells mural arts supplies in case you are | | | | Goddess of Light and Creativity adorns the top of |
| inspired to paint your own personal mural on your | | | | the 18th Street facade with the waters of life |
| living room wall.. Located a block from Precita | | | | flowing beneath her and transforming into fabric |
| Eyes between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street, | | | | designs from around the world. The mural |
| Balmy Alley has a concentration of more than 30 | | | | features such notable women as Georgia O'Keefe |
| vivid murals painted on fences, building walls and | | | | (an innovative American artist) and Rigoberta |
| garage doors. In the neighborhood densely packed | | | | Menchu (a Guatemalan of Mayan decent and |
| with murals, Balmy Alley is at the center of it all. | | | | Nobel prize-winning activist). The names of many |
| Muralists began working in San Francisco's Balmy | | | | more famous women are inscribed in the mural's |
| Alley as early as 1971. Many of the original murals | | | | colorful patterns. The mural is meant to be |
| are still there as well as many murals that have | | | | inspiration and educational, illustrating the |
| been painted over the intervening years. The | | | | contributions women have made to human |
| Balmy Alley murals are very diverse both | | | | history and society. |
| stylistically and in the subject matter. Some of | | | | |