OTNC Foundation asks National City to return donated murals after staff raises concerns

Dukey Valderrama, speaking for the OTNC Foundation during the public-comment period at a National City City Council meeting, said the nonprofit recently distributed its 30th donation to cancer patients and plans to move next year’s cancer-walk from Pepper Park to Jay Street because Pepper Park will be unavailable.

Valderrama said he had presented three murals to the city’s Public Art Committee and that the committee accepted them unanimously as a reflection of Old Town/National City history. He told the council he secured a county grant to support an unveiling at Casa De Salud and thanked officials who attended the event.

Valderrama said difficulties arose after staff review. According to his account, city staff later told him two of the murals had problems: one included lettering on a vehicle license plate that staff said carried "gang communications," and another depicted Saint Anthony’s Church and was characterized as having religious connotations. "They asked me to to have the OT and C eliminated from the mural," he said, and later: "My board said, return them." He added he would not alter an artist’s work without the artist’s approval.

Valderrama said he met with staff members (he named Ben Martinez, Joanne McGee, and others) and was told that only the mural with the religious imagery ultimately remained in question. He said the murals were not displayed at an OTNC reunion when attendees expected to see them; following that omission, the OTNC Foundation board voted unanimously to request the murals be returned to the original artist.

The speaker asked the council to honor the board’s request. The council did not take formal action on the request during the public meeting; the mayor moved the agenda to a closed session on other matters. The city did not announce any immediate next steps on the murals during the portion of the meeting recorded in the transcript.