Press Release: Local Artist Completes First Latino Heritage Mural in Milton-Freewater!

Milton-Freewater, Oregon, November 21: Thanks to funds from a EURUS Foundation grant, a local Artist, Idaly Ferral, was commissioned by the Milton-Freewater Chamber Downtown Alliance to complete a Latino Heritage Mural!

The mural is located on the East-facing wall of the Carniceria El Sol building in Milton-Freewater (11 N Columbia Street, 97862). It beautifully depicts a trio of historically significant Latin heroes: singer Selena Quintanilla, painter Frida Kahlo, and educator Jaime Escalante. The mural also includes nods to Latino culture, boasting bright and vibrant colors, roses, and cacti; Idaly stated that the roses were inspired by Selena’s super famous song, “Como la Flor.”

Project Manager Jacque Fox describes the journey and the elements of the project, that were all bouncing around, coming together for the mural to be completed: “Dual Language Teacher, Cia Cortinas Rood, created with her students a mosaic that paid homage to cultural Latino historical figures. She sent me an image of this beautiful mosaic that her students created, and I had this ‘aha’ moment: it would be incredible to have something like that in Milton-Freewater to represent the Latin culture of our little village. I was sitting around the table with my friends from [MFCDA] and Maryelizabeth Garcia mentioned to me that there were some funds for murals in Milton-Freewater. At that point, the two things connected and it all kind of snapped together. I reached out to a couple of the art teachers here in Milton-Freewater and learned of Idaly Ferral. When I reviewed works that she had done in the past, I knew she was up for the task.”

The project came together with almost no confusion- the City of Milton-Freewater had the scaffolding when it was needed at the time; Idaly was employed at Fry’s True Value and had access to their expertise in their paint department; Carniceria El Sol’s owner, Obed Orozco, was super excited to have Idaly paint something that would honor Latin heroes. And, before long, with the first sunny day and agreeable temperatures, Idaly was up on scaffolding and starting her work. There are no words to describe the mural’s beauty or the talent that this young woman has.

This mural is a triumph on many fronts! MFCDA would like to thank the EURUS Foundation for making this project, which has beautified the community so much and championed our precious Latino heritage, come to fruition!

For more information about Idaly Ferral, call (541) 314-1665.