Start Today: El Centro Del Pueblo
For more than 50 years, El Centro del Pueblo has stood as a cornerstone of LA’s Echo Park neighborhood—quietly and consistently showing up for generations of families. After a recommendation from LA artist and muralist, Mario Herrera, aka Resoe, El Centro’s commitment to community caught the eye of Colossal’s West Coast team.
At its core, El Centro’s mission is about possibility: building confidence, developing skills, and giving young people the tools—and the space—to chart their own futures. It’s a place where youth and families gather not just for support services, but for safety, connection, and opportunity.
As part of Colossal’s Start Today collaboration with El Centro, we’d create a permanent public art mural installation at El Centro’s Echo Park headquarters, where it would be proudly displayed above the main entrance.
With artwork created by the center’s own volunteers and artists, the mural features portraits and stories that honor specific members of El Centro’s youth program – capturing meaningful, real-life moments and brightly celebrating the vibrancy of the community it serves.
After the mural dried, phase two of the collaboration began. Colossal’s LA team hosted a special after-school art class at El Centro’s youth center, welcoming students ages 8 to 18 for an afternoon of painting, storytelling, and creative exploration.
“What began as an art class became a sanctuary, where students found calm, focus, and expression; escaping the day’s grief and unrest by getting lost in paint together.”
During Colossal’s art class visit, many schools in the area had closed due to widespread immigration rights protests happening throughout LA. It was a tense and uncertain day for many families. In light of that, the class felt especially important—an opportunity to pause, reflect, and connect through art.
Combined, the art class and mural transformed the collaboration into something lasting: a visual reminder of resilience, creativity, and collective care. Our Colossal team left inspired by the energy, curiosity, and talent in the room – and judging by the students’ engagement and the work they created, the afternoon did exactly what it set out to do.
A special thanks to the Colossal team members who worked on this project: Alexander Seyum, Christine Stoeber, Marcos Aspeitia, Brandon Jenkins, Vanessa Kreytak, Lara Burns, Katie Danforth, Lumi Jewell, Seiya Jewell, Hartwick Hanson, John Samels, Thorsten Roth, and all the members of our production team and the Start Today committee.
A major thank you to our partners at El Centro, including Carlos De Leon, Fabian Alomar, Sandra Figueroa, Lidia Martinez, and local LA artist and muralist Mario Herrera, aka Resoe.
Founded in 1974, the LA-based nonprofit was created to support the community through violence prevention programs, while expanding access to education, health services, employment programs, counseling, food distribution, and after-school care. Learn more about El Centro and supporting its mission here.
