On Saturday, September 20th, a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the installation of art panels honoring the LaYarda community took place on the Lawrence Loop near 8th and Delaware, followed by a party at Van Go.

The murals were created by Javy Ortiz, a Mexican-born visual artist based in Lawrence. He is an active member of the local arts community and has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the region.

“When I took the project on, I knew it was going to be a big project,” Ortiz said. “… And I didn’t really notice it until I started meeting with the families and really felt the passion and their stories and how much they really cared about this artwork being put up. That really drove me to pour it all out into the work and really do something that was going to be remembered for a while.”

The display along the Lawrence Loop also includes signs that recognize the contributions of the La Yarda community. The effort to bring more recognition to La Yarda began about 20 years ago, but it gained significant momentum in recent years through a multi-year project led by Marlo Angell, who collaborated with Mexican American families to share their stories.

After the ribbon cutting, the attendees took a walk, with the band Mariachi Habanero leading the way, down to Van Go, 715 New Jersey St., for a reception including food catered from La Tropicana and live music from the band Maria the Mexican, who played songs inspired by each of the murals Ortiz created.

In the 1920s, housing was built in Lawrence’s Santa Fe yards to encourage railroad employees and their families to remain year-round. This Mexican-American community became known as LaYarda. LaYarda consisted of two U-shaped brick buildings on concrete slabs divided into five housing units. The two buildings housed about 50 people. The flood of 1951 destroyed LaYarda.