Biography

Judy Baca
Judy Baca by Anna Harris

by Anna Harris

PAIRED
Vibrant Los Angeles
READ
 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension ELL Vocabulary
Strategy: Ask and neighborhood, program
  Answer Questions
Skill: Sequence
Content Standards
Social Studies
Vocabulary Culture and Diversity
admired, classmates,
community, contribute,
practice, pronounce,
scared, tumble
Word count: 828**

Photography Credit: Cover “Judith F. Baca at the Great Wall of Los Angeles” 2005. Courtesy of SPARC
(www.sparcmurals.org).
**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in
captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.

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9 10 11 12 13 DOC 22 21 20 19 18 E
 Genre Biography

Essential Question
How do people from different cultures
contribute to a community?

Judy Baca Table of Contents

by Anna Harris

Chapter 1
Young Judy Baca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2
The Great Wall of Los Angeles . . . . . . 8
Chapter 3
More Recent Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Respond to Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
PAIRED
READ Vibrant Los Angeles . . . . . . . . 16

Glossary/Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Focus on Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . 20
CHAPTER 1

Young Judy Baca

Judy Baca is an artist from Los
Angeles . She paints murals . Murals are
paintings on large walls .

Judy was born in 1946. Her family

is from Mexico . As a young girl, Judy
lived with her mother, two aunts, and
a grandmother.

A mural is a piece of art painted on a wall.

mural
LHB Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

2
 California
UNITED STATES
Los Angeles

N
MEXICO

When Judy was six years old, she

moved to a new neighborhood in Los
Angeles. Judy had always talked in
Spanish. At the new school, she wasn’t
allowed to talk in Spanish. Judy had few
Mexican American classmates.

At first, it was difficult for Judy to

pronounce and understand English words.
Her teacher let Judy draw and paint
when she couldn’t understand the lessons.
Judy began to love painting. Later, she
studied modern art in college.

Language Judy is the subject of the

Mountain High Maps/Digital Wisdom

Detective sentence. What is the

predicate?

3
 After college, Judy worked for the
city of Los Angeles. She worked in a
neighborhood called Boyle Heights. She
taught art classes in the parks . Groups
of teenagers hung  out in the parks .
The groups did not get along . Judy asked
the teenagers to help her paint a mural .
She wanted the teenagers to get along .

When the mural was finished, people

in the community loved it . The mural was
called Mi Abuelita . It showed a Mexican
American grandmother. She looked as
if she was giving a hug . Many Mexican
Americans lived in Boyle Heights . The
mural appealed to the people’s Mexican
heritage or traditions . The mural became
a symbol of unity .

gathered together.
EnInespañol,
Other Words
hung out quiere decir
pasaban el tiempo .

4
A view of the 13’ x 2,400’ “Great Wall of Los Angeles”
mural located in the Tujunga Wash, a flood control
channel. Judith F. Baca 1976. Courtesy of SPARC
(www.sparcmurals.org)

Boyle Heights.
The mural was painted in a park in
Mi Abuelita means “My Grandmother.”

5
 After the success of Mi Abuelita, Judy
started a citywide mural program. She
hired many young people to paint murals.
They created about 500 murals in Los
Angeles . In 1976, Judy helped start a new
group called the Social and Public Art
Resource Center, or SPARC. This group
makes art for people of many different
cultures.

Artist Rip Cronk painted this

mural for SPARC in 1989.
Wendy Connett/Alamy Stock Photo

6
 The Murals of Mexico
Murals have been an artform in Mexico for a
long time. The ancient Maya painted pictures
on temple walls. In the 1900s, artists Diego
Rivera, José Orozco, and David Siqueiros were
famous. They were called Los Tres Grandes.
They painted murals to show everyday people
in Mexico. Judy Baca admired their work.

women
John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

These women and their babies are

part of a mural by David Siqueiros.

STOP AND CHECK

Describe the Mi Abuelita mural.

7
CHAPTER 2

The Great Wall of Los Angeles

In 1976, Judy was asked to paint a
very long mural in Los Angeles. Judy
wanted to show how the people have
contributed to the city . She created
a mural that shows famous men and
women and ordinary people. The mural
is named The Great Wall of Los Angeles .
It shows the history of California.

(b) “Great Wall of Los Angeles: Asians Gain Citizenship and Property” Judith F. Baca ©1976. Courtesy of SPARC (www.sparcmurals.org)
The mural begins at 20,000 B.C.E. It

(t) “Great Wall of Los Angeles: Pre-Historic California” Judith F. Baca ©1976. Courtesy of SPARC (www.sparcmurals.org)
shows the Native American people who
lived in California. It shows the Spanish
who settled in California . It shows the
immigrants that came later to California .
It shows people fighting for equal rights .

8
 Native American

This part of The Great Wall shows the Native

American people who first lived in the area.

Asian Americans

This part of The Great Wall shows Asian

Americans becoming citizens of the United States.

9
 The Great Wall of Los Angeles is half a
mile long. It is one of the longest murals
in the world. Over 400 people worked
on the mural from 1976 to 1983. Many
teenagers worked on the mural. They
came from many different cultures. The
mural is not finished yet. Judy is planning
to paint the events of the 1960s to now!

The mural is the subject

Language of the sentence. Find the
Detective predicate of the sentence.

Mural Makers at the “Great Wall of Los Angeles,” circa 1981. Judith F. Baca ©1976. Courtesy of SPARC (www.sparcmurals.org)

This photo shows a group of The Great

Wall of Los Angeles painters from the 1980s.
10
 Looking after The Great Wall
Some parts of The Great Wall are more than
40 years old. The mural has dealt with sun,
rain, and pollution. Now, it is getting fixed. A
team of people is slowly cleaning every part of
the mural. They are bringing back all the bright
colors and images!
“Judith F. Baca at the Great Wall of Los Angeles” 2005. Courtesy of SPARC (www.sparcmurals.org)

Judy Baca

Judy is helping a team of people to

clean and repaint The Great Wall.

STOP AND CHECK

What does The Great Wall show?

11
CHAPTER 3

More Recent Work

In 1996, Judy started the Digital Mural
Lab. People use computers to make
murals. One project is called Witnesses to
L.A. History. Art students made six large
digital images. Each image stood for a
different cultural group. Judy wanted
to show that all of the cultural groups
contribute to the city. They are part of
the multiethnic history of Los Angeles.

In Other Wordsrepresented. En español,

stood for quiere decir representaba.

“Witnesses to the History of Los Angeles: Biddy Mason” A student-­produced public art project by the
UCLA/SPARC César E. Chávez Digital/Mural Lab, conducted by Professor Judith F. Baca 1996.

One digital mural

shows Biddy Mason.
Biddy was freed from
slavery after coming
to California. Biddy
became a nurse who
cared for the poor.

12
 This banner
shows two
teenagers
“talking” about
the future.

teenagers
“Shoulder To Shoulder Banners: The Future” SPARC ©2000, Youth Workshop in partnership with the City of Los Angeles

In 1999, Judy began a project with

Human Relations Commission Shoulder to Shoulder Program. Courtesy of SPARC (www.sparcmurals.org)

125 teenagers. The project was called

Shoulder to Shoulder. Each teenager had
a partner. The teenagers were partners
with someone very different from them.
The pairs talked about how they were
the same and how they were different.
Then the teenagers painted banners to
show what they had learned. The banners
were hung all over Los Angeles.
13
 Judy has made Los Angeles a more
colorful place. Judy Baca has helped fill
Los Angeles with images. The images on
her murals show the hopes and dreams
of the people of Los Angeles.

The Great Wall of Los Angeles could

be Judy Baca’s greatest achievement.

e th e b ig g e st v is io n yo u c an ! If
“H av
“Have the biggest vision you can! If
o c c u r.”
“Great Wall of Los Angeles: 442nd Japanese Americans” circa 1981.

, it c an n ot
Judith F. Baca ©1976. Courtesy of SPARC (www.sparcmurals.org)

you can’t dream it, it cannot occur.”

yo u c an ’t
—Judy Baca d re am it
—J ud y Ba ca

STOP AND CHECK

Describe one of Judy

Baca’s recent projects.
14
 Respond to
Reading
Summarize
Event

Use details from Judy Baca Event

to summarize the selection. Event

Your graphic organizer may

Event
help you.

Text Evidence
1. How do you know Judy Baca is a
biography? Genre

2. What words or phrases on page 3

show events in order? Sequence

3. What do you think citywide means?

Read page 6 to help you figure out
its meaning. Compound Words

4. Write about three of Judy’s murals

or projects. Put the projects in
order. Write About Reading
15
 Genre Expository Text

Compare Texts
Read about three neighborhoods in
Judy Baca’s hometown of Los Angeles.

V i br a n t
Lo s A n g e l e s
Paired Read: Vibrant Los Angeles

Let’s learn about

some fun communities
in Los Angeles.

Leimert Park
Many artists and
musicians live in Leimert
Park. Famous singers Ray
Charles and Ella Fitzgerald
lived there. Today, Leimert
Park has many places to hear jazz music.
It has a famous hip-hop show. Anyone
from the audience can perform.
16
 Boyle Heights
Many Hispanic people live in Boyle
Heights. A  street corner named Mariachi
Plaza is popular. Mariachi bands play
music together in the evenings. People
come to listen to the music.

Mariachi musicians perform at Mariachi Plaza.

David McNew/Getty Images News/Getty Images

17
Venice Beach
Venice Beach
has many street
performers. Venice
Beach also attracts
people who aren’t
scared to take a
tumble. It has places Basketball players
test their skills at

Kathryn Donohew Photography/Moment Mobile/Getty Images

for rope climbers and
Venice Beach.
acrobats. Basketball
players practice on
the ball courts, too.

Make Connections
What skills or talents do people bring
to each of the three neighborhoods?
Essential Question

How is Judy Baca similar to the people

from these neighborhoods? How is she
different? Text to Text
18
Glossary
digital images images made using
a computer (page 12)

heritage ideas and traditions handed

down from the past (page 4)
immigrants people who move to the
U.S. from other countries (page 8)

multiethnic made up of people from

many different cultures (page 12)
murals large artworks painted on
walls (page 2)
unity a feeling of togetherness or
agreement (page 4)

Index
Boyle Heights, 4, 5, 17 Los Tres Grandes, 7
digital images, 12 Mexican Americans,
Great Wall of 3–5
Los Angeles, The, murals, 2, 4–8,
8–11, 14 10–12, 14
19
 Focus on
Social Studies
Purpose To design a mural for your
neighborhood

What to Do
Step 1 Choose a blank wall in your
neighborhood.

Step 2 Find out more about the people

and places around the wall.

Step 3 Choose one event, person,

or group.

Step 4 Design a mural about your

subject. Plan out the main
images on a piece of paper
or on a computer.

Conclusion What did you learn

about your neighborhood?

20
 Literature Circles

Nonfiction

Thinkmark
Literature Circles Nonfiction Thinkmark

The Topic
What is this book mostly about?

Vocabulary
What new words did you learn from
the text?

Conclusions
What are the most important facts
you learned?

Author’s Purpose
Why do you think the author wrote
this book?

Make Connections
Do you make art, and if so, why?
How can art be helpful to people?
 Communities Social Studies

GR L • Benchmark 24 • Lexile 630

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