Last week, arts group Local Color announced the winner of their contest to decide who would beautify the walls of Quetzal Gardens, an affordable mixed-use development in East San Jose.
Elba Raquel was chosen as one of three finalists before winning the eventual public vote. Her designs present quetzal birds in flight as symbols of a united community. The new permanent public art piece, first proposed in 2019, will finally come to fruition this spring.
“I aimed to blend with the architect’s building choices,” Raquel explains.
During her initial walkthrough, she noted the building’s orange and green color palette, how it complemented the Mexican Heritage Plaza across the street, and the small ceramic tiles inspired by the Little Portugal neighborhood.
“I was advised to stand out and create a masterpiece where I would shine on this huge platform,” she says, “but I decided to scale my voice down and uplift the Quetzal Garden brand through my experiences as a community member.”
Her exterior design captures the exotic birds in wild motion, their long tails tracing bold shapes behind them like victorious ribbons.
“There’s not just one bird—I opted for double birds because, in community, people are dancing and working together,” Raquel stresses.
The expression literally and figuratively reflects her sense of community in San Jose. Right across from Quetzal Gardens, Raquel’s family practice conviviendo—being together—with their Aztec dance community, Calpulli Tonalehqueh, in steps that weave dancers in a moving circle. This year, her muralist collective Together We Create (TWC) will lead five live painting events uniting the visions of professional artists with those of high school students and event attendees—a project proposal that won TWC one of this year’s six Creative Ambassador grants.
Raquel’s pair of quetzals, their feathers fully sprung, seem also to beckon the high winds of change that morphed this project, like so many, through the pandemic.
In 2019, housing developer Resources for Community Development (RCD) approached Local Color about integrating artwork into their spaces.
“They initiated even before there was a space identified, and came to us again when they identified an opportunity,” says Haley Cardamon, Local Color’s program manager at the time.
While Quetzal Gardens was still in early construction, RCD proposed a temporary mural on the construction barrier. Local Color then selected an artist, Francisco Ramirez, and led him through their three design stages: preliminary sketches, directional input from the selection committee, then the proposed design.
“Multiple design stages ensures all parties are on the same page every step of the way,” Cardamon says.
In the summer of 2022, RCD reached out to Local Color to revitalize the project. Quetzal Gardens was nearly complete, much to the excitement of neighboring service organizations like SOMOS Mayfair, who laud it as “a model of development without displacement.” Local Color announced an open call for portfolio submissions. Out of 31 applications, RCD selected three finalists, but the next step required one artist to move forward.
“We presented RCD with the idea of inviting the larger community and residents to have a say in the artwork going up in their backyards,” explains Jessica Punzalan, Local Color’s creative services manager. RCD agreed, and the chance to vote on the winning design drew 470 counts from residents, staff, and community members.
Throughout the public voting period, the San Jose-based finalists kept in touch via Instagram. “The challenging part was that I was in competition with two other local artists that I know, love, and respect,” shares finalist Rayos Magos. “But we had nothing but positive things to say to each other.”
“What I do know about Elba,” he affirms, “is that she is a fierce warrior who continues to push the boundaries of her arts practice and build community through her projects.”
