Fried chicken ad found below mural of Carlos Santana in San Francisco: ‘It’s disrespectful’
By Luz Pena
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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Carlos Santana is not only a global musical legend that many consider the godfather of Latin Rock, but a local legend as well. Santana attended high school in San Francisco’s Mission District.
In 2021, community members raised funds to honor him with a mural. That mural is now the center of controversy.
“Who created Latin rock music and his family. How his dad came here from Mexico and La Palma to bring Mariachi music to the Mission District,” said Richard Segovia, artist and family friend of the Santanas.
Segovia recently noticed the beloved mural looked different.
“This is family, this is the legacy and it’s not a piece of chicken. To me, it’s disrespectful not only to the neighborhood but to the whole Santana family and the whole Santana team,” said Segovia.
The restaurant that leased the building placed advertisements on the windows below the mural.
“I mean look, beverages, snacks, breakfast, ice cream right in front of the Santana mom and dad – Jose and Josefina Santana. It’s not a billboard,” said Segovia.
Vicki Johnson has lived in this neighborhood for 40 years and was shocked to see the ads but also its current condition.
“I feel it’s disrespectful because it’s Carlos Santana and his family, and he is from this area,” said Johnson. “Whoever did it before needs to come back and touch it up.”
We contacted the San Francisco Art’s commission. They confirmed the mural was made after community donations. The one responsible is an art nonprofit Mission Art 415.
Luz Pena: “It’s only been four years, so why is it falling apart?” Lisa Brewer: “Thank you for asking because it has been bothering me for a minute now. The building itself because of its age and it’s a historical landmark building, the wooden structure is decaying off the wall. So, it’s not the mural preparation, the primer or the salient.”
Brewer is the owner of Mission Art 415. She did not want to say how much was invested but confirmed it was over $100,000.
Pena: “I spoke to the San Francisco Arts Commission and they mentioned that whoever was responsible for the mural should also have money set aside to fix it. Do you guys have the means, the money right now to fix it?” Brewer: “Not during this economic time. So regardless of if we fix it. The problem remains it’s the building.”
As to the signs, the owner of Krispy Krunchy Chicken said they put their advertising to try to attract customers getting off BART.
“It had no bad intentions behind it besides grabbing some customers into our business. Business has been tough, but we are trying our best to keep it going,” said Hassan Manea, with the 24th Street location of the Krispy Krunchy Chicken restaurant.
Hours later, we got a photo from Manea showing they had removed the ads from the windows below the mural.
One of the other reasons the mural continues to decay, Lisa Brewer from Mission Art 415 said, is due to the wall, since the building is located above a BART line.
“The building itself is starting to decay and when the BART station rumbles and if you stand there, you can feel the BART train passing there every three to four minutes. When it rumbles, the building itself shakes, which forces the paint off the wall,” said Brewer.
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