Preserving the Past:
The Fight to Save Puerto Rican Murals in Philadelphia

In the heart of North Philadelphia, stories of resilience, migration, culture, and community are not only told through books or museums, but also through vibrant murals splashed across aging brick walls. These works are more than art. They are living history. And they are disappearing. Among the most iconic is the mural honoring Puerto Rican poet and activist Juan Antonio Corretjer, located at the corner of Orianna Street and West Lehigh Avenue. A powerful collaboration between renowned Puerto Rican artist Elizam Escobar and Philadelphia-based muralist Danny Torres, the piece is a vivid reminder of Puerto Rican pride and political consciousness. But its future is in jeopardy. The lot in front of the mural at 315 W Lehigh Ave is currently up for sale. If purchased by a private developer, any future construction could obscure or entirely cover the mural, silencing a critical voice in the city’s cultural landscape. This threat is not hypothetical. We have already lost other key works, including Torres' mural "El Piragüero," which was painted over, a quiet erasure of a visual story meant to honor community tradition. In recent years, another mural has been the subject of erasure. Speaking about the Puerto Rican Statue of Liberty mural located in the Spring Garden Neighborhood in Philadelphia, Jane Golden, Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, was quoted in an interview that there has been a predominantly white group of homeowners that have made their own noise about the mural: “They have managed to bully their way into this position that there will be no new murals in this neighborhood because they just hate murals... I love the fact that it is there. In their hearts, they don’t want to be seen as politically racist. They are much more subtle. I love the fact that after we fixed it up there was a ceremony.” Murals like these serve as collective memory. They connect generations, narrate struggles, celebrate leaders, and define identity. In neighborhoods experiencing rapid gentrification, they also stand as guardians of presence, declaring, "We were here. We are here."  What happens when these murals are gone? What remains when visual traces of culture vanish? In the words of Danny Torres, featured in the award-winning short documentary I Am Danny Torres: “No van a querer vestigios de nosotros.” ("They won’t want any traces of us.")  To allow these murals to fade or be destroyed is to erase history in real time.