El Pollo Loco is paying tribute to its Hispanic heritage and Los Angeles roots by restoring a series of lost murals across Los Angeles during Hispanic Heritage Month as part of its ongoing commitment to give back to the cities that molded and influenced the brand.
Los Angeles, one of the greatest mural capitals of the world, has seen an estimated 60 percent of murals vanish, experts say. During Hispanic Heritage Month, El Pollo Loco is honoring the defunct Latino artwork by enabling a new generation to experience it. The restaurant chain is preserving this lost culture by teaming up with Warren Brand, a curator and board member of Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, to digitally bring five murals from renowned Latino artists Juan Hector Ponce and Hector “Hex” Rios back to their original state with augmented reality filters.
From now through October 15, Angelenos and visitors walking by the five locations where the murals once were can scan a code with Snapchat and see what the artwork once looked like there, before it had been removed.
“We take pride in the culture and history our food, our people, and the city we call home,” says Bernard Acoca, President and Chief Executive Officer at El Pollo Loco. “Hispanic heritage is not a moment in time, it is what has shaped who we are as a company and how we put our values to practice by serving our customers and communities.”
Permanent Recreations
To ensure this timeless form of storytelling survives, El Pollo Loco is also paying homage to its heritage and the art that was once on Los Angeles’ walls by donating storefronts as the canvases to new murals. The first mural will be painted on El Pollo Loco’s original restaurant location on Alvarado Street, which since opening in 1980 has featured an indoor mural depicting life in Sinaloa, Mexico, the childhood home of the company’s founder.
The murals being digitally restored during Hispanic Heritage Month, include:
- “Nuestra Gente es Linda y Poderosa” – 2841 Boulder Street, Los Angeles
- “Hex BBOY” – 417 East 15th Street, Los Angeles
- “SK8 Still Lives” – 7753 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles
- “Migration” – 1262 South Lake Street, Los Angeles
- “Zapata” – 2000 W 6th Street, Los Angeles
