A teenage girl in Boyle Heights is using the power of art to inspire young women. She was honored on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, for a mural that’s painting a picture of female empowerment.
A mural created by a 15-year-old girl depicting 16 inspirational women throughout history was unveiled Saturday in Boyle Heights.
Isabel Peinado spent about 600 hours preparing and painting "Empowerment." Her work earned her a Girl Scouts Gold Award, the organization's highest honor, according to the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, which praised Isabel for demonstrating exemplary vision and leadership.
"I want to thank and congratulate this first-time muralist for the gift that she is bestowing on the Boyle Heights community, and in particular young girls who will look at this mural and the women it depicts and find incredible inspiration to follow their dreams," Councilmember Jose Huizar said. "When you consider the hundreds of hours Isabel Peinado took to create this mural, with the help of a loyal group of family and friends, the heart and soul put into this mural is written in the dedication Isabel signs it with: 'To you with love. Para ustedes, con mucho carino y con todo mi corazon.' Congratulations to all on a beautiful and empowering piece of art." Huizar and his wife, Richelle Huizar, helped identify a property owner, Angela Diaz, who had space to allow Isabel to paint her mural.
Figures depicted on "Empowerment" include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; Mae Jamison, the first African-American woman astronaut to travel into space; United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta; Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace-prize winning activist for female education who survived being shot in head by Taliban; Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author of "Farewell to Manzanar," a novel depicting her experiences as a Japanese American in World War II internment camps; and Princess Diana.
Others depicted include civil rights activist Rosa Parks; painter Frida Kahlo; Our Lady of Guadalupe; author and activist Helen Keller; feminist nun Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz; women's suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony: comedian Ellen DeGeneres; and the slain singer Selena.
The final two figures represent all mothers and little girls.
"I hope this mural inspires little girls to choose any profession or calling they decide," said Isabel, who attends the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
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"I want them to know that anything is possible if you are passionate, hardworking, and dedicated to doing what you love -- to believe in yourself no matter what anybody says and to always do your best. The women in this mural are an inspiration and this mural celebrates and acknowledges their accomplishments."
