La Casa de Amistad's new mural honors Latino leaders

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- La Casa de Amistad is unveiling a new mural dedicated to Latino leaders who helped shape the City of South Bend.

The Institute for Social Concerns reached out to La Casa about creating a project that celebrates South Bend's Latino community.

"As we saw in our census data, our fastest growing population here, not only in the city and the county, but in the state of Indiana and across the country. It's a story that's worth telling. With so much rich history that ideally, we don't get to lose these moments along the way," CEO of La Casa de Amistad Juan Constantino said.

Last summer, the Institute for Social Concerns and La Casa de Amistad started talking with some of the first migrant families who came to the area in the 1950s and 60s.

Through La Casa de Amistad's afternoon program, Adelante, students were able to interview some key community leaders, as they've had a hand in the printmaking, storytelling and some of the artwork that will be featured on the mural.

"I think that it was so wonderful to be able to talk about the different stories from different teams and the different eras and then be able to formulate an idea of how we wanted to represent that. Then getting to incorporate the students' silhouettes, which act as a bridge, connecting each portion to one another. I think it is even more profound because then we're connecting the past, present and future," muralist Freddy Rodriguez said.

To celebrate the completion, a mural celebration will be held this Friday at Foundry Field starting at 4 p.m.

Speakers will include representatives from the Institute for Social Concerns, the mayor's office and La Casa de Amistad. It's free and open to the public.

"We've been digging into these stories that tell such a rich history of resilience, of community and ultimately, of inspiration. It's a migrant story, but it's a Latino story. It is a South Bend story, and we are ever grateful to collaborate with La Casa in bringing this to life on this mural," Assistant Director of Community Partnerships at the Institute for Social Concerns Mike Hebbeler said.