My trip to Chicano Park was not fun but very enlightening. I am from LA and therefore I never really get to see anything outside of UCSD. I had been to Chicano Park once before as the meeting site for a protest against Trump the week he was elected. It was an empowering protest meeting in a place so full of history and political empowerment. Just being in this space you cannot help but feel at aw at the beautiful paintings. They all meant something that implant Chicanx history into the bones of the city. It is very easy to forget the histories that created this country. Public school education and curriculum is designed in a way to forget all that’s happened, the good and the bad. These murals however do not allow that. They all tell a story of how this park was made and those who fought for us before us. It was very inspirational, but I couldn’t help to notice the things that stuck out to me. For example the creeping gentrification of this area. Similar to Echo Park and most of Downtown LA, gentrification is a slow but very dangerous process. I noticed it in certain shops and in the art galleries around Chicano Park. Being around such beautiful art will always attract many people, but I hope that the gentrification does not push the people who have lived here for generations out the way it did in LA. Overall my trip to Chicano Park was an amazing experience and I hope to go back.