Big Bellflower mural with Kobe, Vin, Tupac and others is in danger of erasure. An essay could save it

When business owner Robert Cornejo commissioned a mural to adorn his newly opened vehicle tinting shop in February, the Lakewood resident’s goal was to grab patrons and attention.

He accomplished his objective. Scores of visitors have flocked to Bellflower’s Speedy Auto Tint & Detail to gaze upon the L.A.-centric 54-foot-by-10-foot painting. But a visit from Bellflower officials has thrown the fate of the new artwork into question.

Cornejo, 33, said the city Code Enforcement Division informed him he’s in violation of multiple city ordinances regulating murals and might need to remove the work.

The mural features portraits of former Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya, rap legends Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, and Latino acting icon Danny Trejo painted alongside a lowrider, the 6th Street Viaduct, the Dodgers logo and the downtown cityscape. The phrase “Wouldn’t be L.A. without Mexicans,” a nod to Shakur’s city anthem “To Live and Die in L.A.,” is written along the side of the mural.

The artwork attracted the praise of Trejo, who called it “amazing” and told his followers “to check it out before the city removes it!” De La Hoya thanked the artist on Instagram said he’d “make some calls.”

Cornejo said he was given a written warning last week and had been “trying to find a way to work with the city” to keep the mural.

“I was heartbroken to receive the notice because I felt like everyone involved poured their soul into the project,” Cornejo said. “We first did this to promote and expand the business, yes, but after the mural was completed, it was a beautiful tribute to L.A. culture.”

Pasadena artist Louie “Sloe” Palsino — who has painted murals of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi on West Pico Boulevard and artist Selena in South Los Angeles — undertook the task. According to Cornejo, work on the mural began in mid-February and was completed April 19.

Bellflower officials said the work was in violation of a city ordinance mandating that murals “be located on a wall facing a side street.” The art currently points toward Woodruff Avenue near the 91 Freeway. The mural is also in violation of area zoning standards and needs special approval, according to another ordinance.

Cornejo started an online petition “to save our community mural” that was aiming for 5,000 signatures and climbing rapidly Thursday night.

In the petition, he noted his pride in the mural.

An employee of Speedy Auto Tint & Detail in Bellflower walks in front of the business and its eye-catching mural Thursday morning.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

“We are a Latino family-owned small business, and we believe this mural represents the city of Los Angeles and the culture it embodies,” he wrote.

Cornejo’s Bellflower shop is his second location. He said he also leases a location in Downey and works full time as a sales manager at Kia of Cerritos auto dealership.

“The dream is to eventually be my own boss,” he said.

Cornejo contends that his petition, social media comments and media attention have helped sway city officials. Initially, Cornejo said he thought he would need to “pay thousands of dollars to file the right paperwork to keep the mural.”

He said he was told Thursday afternoon by city officials that he would have to write an essay about why the mural should stay and present his case at a City Council meeting.

“I don’t want to celebrate too quickly,” he said, “but this is great.”

Bellflower Mayor Sonny R. Santa Ines issued a statement Thursday saying that the city “does not object to the content of the mural.”

City officials, however, have received complaints that the artwork “does not comply with the established mural standards in the municipal code,” he said.

Ines said conversations were taking place with Cornejo and that both parties were “actively seeking an appropriate solution.”

Cornejo opened the tint shop in February but said he planned an official grand opening June 18.

So far, he said, city officials have told him they are not attending.