Vandal Paints Over Murals At Santa Cruz Park
SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) – Mural artwork at Santa Cruz's Beach Flats Park was vandalized this weekend, police said Tuesday.
Police said the murals, which were on the side of a storage building in the park and have cultural significance to the community, appear to have been vandalized over the course of two separate nights this weekend. The murals were completely painted over.
Vandals also marred the Beach Flats Park sign and another sign at Riverside and Leibrandt avenues, police said.
Police are looking for the suspect, who is said to be a woman in her 40s with brown, wavy and curly hair. She was seen wearing a brown sweatshirt and a long, brown dress.
Police said one of the vandalized murals depicted a scene of family life, and the other was a portrayal of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The murals, more than two decades old, were influenced by the neighborhood's Latino culture, police said.
Another portion of the Beach Flats Park mural collection had white primer painted over it more than a year ago by the city of Santa Cruz as part of a refurbishment project for its public arts program.
Last month, the city agreed to pay $30,000 to the artist, Victor Cervantes, for proceeding with the mural removal without first notifying him.
The city also issued a formal apology on its website, saying that it "never intended the refurbishment project to disrespect Mr. Cervantes or Santa Cruz's Latino residents."
As for the remaining, now-marred Beach Flats Park murals, police are asking for anyone who has information on the vandalism to contact the Police Department's investigations unit at (831) 420-5820.
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