Vandals deface 23rd Street mural depicting SF Mission culture

Yet another mural containing a Huelga bird — a United Farm Workers symbol that was later appropriated by the Norteño gang — has been defaced.

Public artwork at 23rd and Capp depicting Mission Street, street vendors, and a Huelga bird with the phrase “Si se puede,” was spray-painted over with the words “Sur 16th St.,” and an X crossing out the bird.

“Sur,” presumably, stands for “Sureño,” whose territory purportedly spans from 16th to 19th streets. Norteño territory, meanwhile, has been closer to 24th Street.

The eagle, an Aztec symbol, was used by Cesar Chavez on the United Farm Workers flag. In recent years, however, the Norteño gang has adopted the symbol.

Last July, the symbol on a 24th Street mural depicting Chavez was vandalized with a similar tag — a “16” scrawled on part of Chavez’s face with the bird crossed out. The artist, Carlos Gonalez, subsequently opted to replace the bird with the likeness of Dolores Huerta because he didn’t want the task of having to repeatedly repaint it.

The 23rd and Capp mural was painted in May 2010 by Francisco “Twick” Aquino, who could not be reached for comment.

The property owners at the time commissioned the mural to abate graffiti.

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