Mario Torero and the Birth of Artivism

Abstract

An immigrant from Lima, Peru to San Diego in 1959, Mario Torero learned to paint and draw from his father, the artist Guillermo Acevedo. In 1970 Torero joined other Chicano activists to occupy Barrio Logan’s Chicano Park in order to keep it from being turned into a California Highway Patrol (CHP) station. Mario embraced his calling as an “artivist” and helped to found San Diego’s world-famous Chicano Park; several of his murals appear in this unique space. Mario continues to paint, teach, curate shows, and organize community art intervention installations in San Diego, revitalizing the meaning and vigor in his term "Artivista."

Presenter Biography
An immigrant from Lima, Peru to San Diego in 1959, Mario Torero learned to paint and draw from his father, the artist Guillermo Acevedo. In 1970 Torero joined other Chicano activists to occupy Barrio Logan’s Chicano Park in order to keep it from being turned into a California Highway Patrol (CHP) station. Mario embraced his calling as an “artivist” and helped to found San Diego’s world-famous Chicano Park; several of his murals appear in this unique space and Mario’s original blueprint for Chicano Park is housed in the Smithsonian Museum. Mario continues to paint, teach, curate shows, and organize community art intervention installations in San Diego, revitalizing the meaning and vigor in his term "Artivista.