New mural at Dodger Stadium honors Fernando Valenzuela
Nine months after his death, Fernando Valenzuela is immortalized in a new wall paint on the Lodge level wall at the Dodger Stadium – a vibrant fusion of art and heritage unveiled on Saturday.
Painted by the American Mexican artist Robert Vargas, the wall painting shows Valenzuela by based his cap in the sky in a jersey of the Mexican inheritance Dodgers – with a green sleeve, a red handle, a white center – alongside two striking images of Valenzuela in his pitching position. Vargas said that the mural is supposed to symbolize unity within the Latin American community.
“I felt very important to show that the Latin community has a place in these walls and had a place in these walls,” said Vargas.
He wanted to reflect the spirit of Valenzuela who still lives in the hearts of many fans and present the man behind the player.
“What he did in the community is what resonates so much more for me than the player – but the man, the person he was,” said Vargas.
Valenzuela played for dodgers from 1980 to 1990. He grew up in Etchohuaquila, a small town in Mexico, and stormed Major League Baseball in 1981, obtaining the recruit of the year and the honors of Cy Young. Latino fans who previously felt little connection with the Dodgers were delighted to see one of their own winning Fernandomania. Valenzuela wore n ° 34 and there remains a popular jersey worn by fans of the Dodger stadium.
Claudio Campo was running out of looking at the tribute. Travel of Phoenix with his son to celebrate the boy’s 11th anniversary, Campo shared the memories of a player whose grandeur was deeply personal. The nickname of Valenzuela, “El Toro”, is inked on the left arm of Campo.
“It was a must for people who had nothing, then where he came from showed that something was possible if you are going ahead and revive what you are,” said Claudio.
Fans holding Valenzuela Bobbleheads offered by the Dodgers took their photos in front of the new wall on Saturday evening.
The long -standing fan Dulce Gonzalez retained the emotion as it showed her shirt with the name “Valenzuela” written through, describing the reason why she started looking at baseball.
“He was the first Latin player I could really connect and be proud,” she said.
For Gonzalez, the story of Valenzuela resonated because it came from the same roots, offering a representation that she wanted.
“We are a crucible breed here, people like baseball of all shopping, but because I am Latina, I feel a little more connected,” she said.
His son, Nicolas, dressed in a red and green jersey of Mexican dodgers, said that Valenzuela helped to cure certain injuries after the American Mexican families were moved from their houses in Chavez Ravine little time before the Dodger stadium was built on the same country.
“He really opened the city to dodgers after a long difficult entrance and he really represented the triumph of adversity,” said Nicolas.
