Sunrise, sunset

Went to Santa Paula this weekend for the De Colores Art Show and Festival. Santa Paula is about 15 miles from Ventura, over 70% Latino, and filled with murals depicting it's industrial history. Ag and Oil stories are evident throughout its small downtown area.

So is the town's appreciation of creative expression.

They've recently opened up the Santa Paula Art Museum. It is not large in size, but there is great care evident in how it presents art to all of the folks who live in town or who come in to town and may visit the museum. They are proud of their accomplishment and rightly so.

Another bit of public is this monument. It was dedicated in mid-August.

Each of the names engraved is that of a farmworker. Each name represents $100 dollars that the family or friend donated toward the creation of this work.

This is the only memorial in our nation dedicated to fieldworkers rather than iconic leaders. The names instead reflect a variety of heritages that toil in the field; a local article refers to Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Latino, and Dustbowl ancestry.

All worked with crops from sunrise to sunset. All are commemorated in a unique intersection of art and history in Santa Paula.

Hilario Galeana - fabricator, Brian Arthum - sculptor