Meet Maria—Bulldog Community Advocate & Friend (Story 21/40)

We title all of these 40 stories with “Meet so-and-so,” but most of you probably know Maria. As a long-time community activist and City Heights CDC colleague, Maria is a woman who understands the importance and power of community voices.

“Oh I know a thing or two about waiting!” Maria laughs.

As one of our most veteran staff members, Maria has spent decades working and waiting for promises to be kept. She was part of some of the earliest advocacy work dating back to The Visions Project.

“Lately I’ve been really focused on the mural in Teralta Park. It’s something we’ve worked toward for so many years and it’s finally happening!”

Maria pictured during the pandemic, indicating the wall that will be cleaned for the mural.

“I can be a rose thorn or a rose petal, and I’ve been a thorn in the side of a lot of people to get this mural done. We’ve waited so long for things like Youth Opportunity Passes and the Purple Line.”

One section of the new mural going up in Teralta Park.

“Our communities deserve the same amenities every other community around us gets, yet so often we have to fight to get it. Well, for as long as I’m here, I’ll be fighting for all of those things, and I’m grateful for anyone else who keeps standing up and working for this community, too.”