America Tropical (1971)

This video tells the story of a controversial mural painted on a Los Angeles building in 1932 by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Depicting a Mexican crucified on a double cross, the mural represented Siqueiros' strong statement against U.S. imperialism in Mexico and the treatment of Mexicans in the U.S. Shortly after Siqueiros returned to Mexico, the mural was whitewashed by Los Angeles authorities. Nearly forty years later, two Mexican art restorers investigate the now faded mural and discuss the possibility of its restoration (the Getty Museum has announced that it will refurbish the mural in 2005-2006). The video also includes interviews with a then 74-year-old Siqueiros and other artists who worked with the great Mexican muralist.