Sitting in the busy intersection of 5th Street and Rising Sun Avenue in Hunting Park, is the almost finished, vibrant, new mural dedicated to Puerto Rican Philadelphians, Puerto Rican heritage and Spanish culture all in one. At the centerpiece of this mural is a massive depiction of Benito Antonio Martìnez Ocasio, the current worldwide phenomenon known as Bad Bunny.
He’s been a beacon of unity and solidarity within Spanish music. Bad Bunnys music at this point is fully global, having non Spanish speaking listeners tuning into his music and not even understanding what he’s saying, as his songs are fully in Spanish. He is known for his versatility in his music. He is a pillar in the Spanish community and Spanish culture, not just for Puerto Ricans.
“The mural depicts the sunrise and sunset. It starts on the right side traveling from Puerto Rico traveling toward Philadelphia, it depicts different eras from 5th street history as well,” Said Vanessa Vega, Muralist.
The theme of this mural is unity. In his performance at Super Bowl LX, Bad Bunny stated” When it is all said and done none of us are originally from here, we’re all immigrants” . Additionally, another deeper theme this mural holds, is the immigration story for Puerto Ricans coming to the United States between the 1930s and 1940s. One of the photos on the wall is one of the first airplane flights from PR to the U.S, which according to Danny Torres, a longtime Philadelphian from Puerto Rico, some of the first flights to the U.S. from PR took over 8 hours and had beach chairs in the plane.
“We are trying to tell the story of our immigration and its whole history”. Benito came with this idea of unity. We have to explain to the people as latinos that we are all so united. We had to fight like hell to get here. We’re using our history and the facts in this mural,” said Danny Torres.
The mural when it is finished will stretch three walls, depicting the journey from Puerto Rico to the United States, and ending in Philadelphia.In collaboration with Esperanza a local community organization dedicated to the bettering the Spanish community and neighborhoods through a range of community oriented programs, and the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department, “Storefront Improvement” program which delegates funds to giving businesses the opportunity to spruce up their businesses. Across the street from this mural is the North Philadelphia famous “Porky Point” restaurant. Porky Point recently got funding from the city to update their store front. Meaning they got a new sign, new paint on the building and a new mural on the side of the building as well. The new design on porky point was designed after “Parque de Bombas”, a historic firehouse landmark in Ponce, Puerto.
While standing on the corner of the busy intersection, I noticed how many cars,pedestrians, and residents of the neighborhood all stopped by to praise the almost complete mural. The joy and admiration for the culture was overwhelming and it hasn’t even been completed yet. Torres relayed that he had always seen 5th street and Rising Sun avenue wall as a canvas, as it has been for the most part, an empty massive wall. He went to the CEO of Esperanza with this vision and the project came to life.
“Real Art”, one pedestrian that drove by in a van shouted. When I pulled up on my bike ride from South Philly down there, painter and muralist Vanessa Vega was on the large ladder finishing the final touches of the second wall, with the words above her head “Bienvanido a la cinco” – Welcome to 5th Street!
Two Philadelphia natives, rich with Puerto Rican roots, Vanessa Vega and Danny Torres were the skilled muralists recruited for this project. Vanessa described Danny as a “veteran in the game”, as he has many murals in North Philadelphia along 5th and Lehigh Streets .They started the mural and the idea in early September, Bad bunny is the center piece, the image they have of him up on the mural is from a scene from his superbowl performance when he was speaking about unity. Although he is not from Philadelphia everything he embodies and stands for resonates heavily with the spanish community and especially the puerto rican community in Hunting Park.
“When Benito was in the Super Bowl, he used the words in spanish, together we are american. Meaning America belongs to everyone, not just to certain people,” Said Torres.
It is clear that this project isn’t just a ploy to celebrate Bad Bunny, but adding yet another historical piece to Philadelphia’s mural capital of the word title. On Friday October 23rd, from 5pm to 9pm on the block the mural is on, there will be a block party hosted by Esperanza and other partners celebrating the mural’s completion.
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