Oceano Cultural Mural

The Oceano cultural mural was painted on the side of Chacho’s Mexican restaurant by local artist Oscar Pearson. As profiled by Rachel Showalter on KCBX:

The Central Coast section of Highway 1 is one of the most scenic drives in America. A new mural in south San Luis Obispo County is giving people another reason to stop and take a look around.

A local artist. A coalition of dedicated residents. A chunk of grant money. And Chacho’s Mexican Restaurant. These are the ingredients for Oscar Pearson’s mural in Oceano. It’s on the back wall of Chacho’s and it’s a vibrant one—dotted with the area’s natural scenery and full of Hispanic themes, to highlight the restaurant’s culture.

“The first thing that came to my mind was the tortillas there because that’s just what they’re known for here,” Pearson said.

About a third of Pearson’s mural is Chacho’s tortillas; he didn’t stop there. He added traditional dancers, indiginous patterns, agave plants and, to bring it all home—the Oceano dunes.

“It’s just gonna be all the beautiful patterns of the way the wind sweeps the sand,” Pearson said. “I don’t know if you’ve been out there—it has these really distinct patterns.”

Pearson grew up eating at Chacho’s and the restaurant is known as a staple in the community.

“Chacho’s is a part of Oceano history,” Pearson said. “I feel like it’s really good that this got to go on their building because they’ve been here so long and they’ve just been a part of this community right here. Everybody knows them.”

The Oceano Beach Community Association is a group dedicated to creating positive change for Oceano. The coalition received a $3000 dollar grant to fund Pearson’s mural. The project is meant to help slow traffic along Highway 1 and encourage people to spend time at local businesses.