Pajaro celebrates a new mural depicting the town’s rise from the 2023 flood.

For months, Jose Ortiz and his team at Hijos del Sol have stationed themselves next to a massive wall on Salinas Road in Pajaro, turning a once-blank, dirty wall into a canvas that captures the spirit of the agricultural town.

Those months are in addition to more than two years of gathering input from Pajaro residents on how they envision their community, and how it can rise in the wake of the devastating 2023 flood.

Now, as the three-year anniversary of the March 2023 flood approaches, that mural is complete, promising a symbol of a brighter future ahead.

“Everyone spoke, and together, we designed it,” Ortiz said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of the mural on Friday, Feb. 27. “It wasn’t just me or my team. Everyone did. Every little brush stroke. And there’s a lot of brush strokes out there.”

The mural stretches 160-by-25 feet at 417 Salinas Road, a building that houses SunRidge Farms’ offices and warehouse. It depicts a woman rising from the Pajaro River, surrounded by fields, mountains, birds and a farmworker family. It faces the busy Salinas Road, the main thoroughfare in Pajaro.

“I hope it stays here for a long time and makes people feel a little less stressed,” Ortiz said.

The mural was made possible thanks to Assembly Bill 102, a $20 million flood relief package secured by Pajaro’s representatives in the State Senate and State Assembly.

“We’re very happy with the beautiful mural,” says Pat Lester, part of the family that built and owns the building.

The family did not offer much input on the artistic concept, Lester says, but she requested a windmill in the mural, because her late husband loved Don Quixote, his favorite hero. 

"It represents hope,” she says.

Among the direct financial aid for residents and infrastructure improvements, 22 organizations received $1.8 million in grants for various community projects. That included $45,000 to Salinas-based Hijos del Sol for the mural, as well as an additional $30,000 from Community Bridges.

Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino praised Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and State Sen. John Laird for securing the funds, noting that none of the relief work in Pajaro would have been possible without them.

He adds that combining the grant funds Community Bridges received with that of Hijos del Sol allowed the mural to expand in size.

“Jose’s a legend in his own right,” Cancino says.

County Supervisor Glenn Church said the mural is a symbol, but “it’s not a symbol we’re at the end of the work being done here. It’s a symbol that it’s going to continue on,” he said, noting that improvements to Salinas Road are coming soon, while work to renovate the Porter Vallejo Mansion and the library are underway, with a train station in Pajaro planned in the next several years. 

“In the past, Monterey County has ignored this community,” Church said. “In the past, Santa Cruz County has just pushed their problems over into this side.

“This time it’s different. Pajaro is going to be remembered and it’s going to continue on.”

Sara Rubin contributed to this report.