Prevent World War III

Themes: current events, politics

In the summer of 1980, the world was changing and a group of ten muralists took to 18th street to express their fears, concerns and hopes for the future. Their masterpiece, “Prevent World War III” stretches more than 60 feet wide and features a large scale, winding film strip with panels that depict different political themes. It is generally agreed by scholars that the film strip skeleton of the mural is an allusion to Reagan’s acting career, as the original mural was painted in response to Reagan’s impending election and the perceived threat of nuclear war.

Marcos Raya painted “Fallen Dictator,” the first panel from the left, and his influence can be seen throughout the entire mural. His primary panel shows a diverse group of Latinx people gathered around the broken and decapitated statue of U.S.-supported Nicaraguan dictator, Anastacio Somoza. The people range from soldiers in uniform carrying guns to blue-collar workers wearing hardhats and farmers, one of whom carries a red and black flag, a probable symbol of the communist and leftist ideals. A yelling woman stands open-mouthed, holding a sign. In Raya’s original work, the sign depicted Che Guevara’s iconic red and black portrait. Though an update layered a white poster with “Moreana!” written on top of it in black letters, the corners of the Che Guevara poster are still visible. This implies the ever-present influence of past politics on the present.

To the left of the main panel, outside of the main film strip, another update added the words “Stop Plan Merida” in a white circle with a prohibit symbol in red. This phrase references the Merida Initiative – the agreement between the U.S. and Mexico designed to fight drug cartels and organized crime that was strongly opposed by many in the Latinx community, including Raya.

Other panels feature more contemporary issues facing Pilsen, including one with a giant spider with words such as “corporation” “wallet,” and “greencard” written on its body. The spider is using its web to suck up the Earth, which is personified with human-like features. Raya said this represents corporations taking over the neighborhood. Another panel shows a group of farmers protesting in front of a field holding signs that say, “Prevent World War III,” “Affordable Housing in Pilsen,” “No to gentrification!” and “Monsanto is Poison.”

In a 2018 interview with the Pilsen Murals Project team, Raya spoke of murals as active agents of protest. “A muralist is supposed to be a teacher, a professor, someone who educates, not to entertain because that’s what everybody does today,” he said. “Everybody wants to entertain and to have fun. That’s the difference. A muralist has many ways of doing a mural. He can do a historical mural, he can do political mural, he can do all kinds of murals.”

Raya, who was born in Irapuato, Mexico and moved to Chicago at aged 16. He credits exposure to muralism in Mexico City, political and artistic awakening. He has been involved with the repainting of “Prevent World War III” three times – in the 80’s, 90s and 2016, each one responding to particular political issues of the time. Raya most recently updated the mural in 2016, adding Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, the then-presidential candidates. Both are portrayed with reptilian features, wrestling over a nuclear missile against an ominous red sky. During the update, Raya commented to a local news station that, “We have Trump on one side and Clinton on the other, and both are talking the politics of fear and war.” The funding for the most recent update came from the 25th Ward Art in Public Places Community Arts Initiative.

This description was written by Notre Dame student Marie Fazio.