A lifelong Dodgers fan, Guillermo Piñon remembers sitting as a kid at Las Palomas, a former Boyle Heights bar, waiting for his father to finish his beer before heading to Dodger Stadium to watch Fernando Valenzuela and his “magic left arm.”
Piñon’s father was a man of few emotions, but if anything could move him to his core, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the 1981 World Series against the New York Yankees. He remembers his dad shedding a tear, an image, he says, “is engraved in my memory.”
That’s why it felt like a no-brainer for Piñon to honor his father by commissioning a mural featuring Valenzuela and Dodgers broadcasting legend Jaime Jarrín on the back wall of what is now Distrito Catorce, the restaurant he opened in 2021 in the former Las Palomas space.
“There’s a lot of history in this little space,” says Piñon, 51. “I thought this would be a good way to keep my dad’s memory alive.”
But now, Piñon has asked the mural’s artist to paint over it with a new work honoring local leaders who have “made a difference in our community.” He says the decision was personal — sparked by the Dodgers for not taking a stronger stance against the immigration raids that have terrorized LA since the beginning of summer.
“The Dodgers were really, really good to me and my family growing up, and I have a lot of awesome memories, but the past is the past,” Piñon said. “I’m going to do the changes that I feel are needed to make sure that our community feels …honored, respected, and celebrated.”
In June, the Dodgers announced a $1 million contribution to support families of immigrants, but their statement did not acknowledge the raids. Their pledge came several days after Angel City FC and LAFC issued statements of solidarity, and amid growing pressure from civic groups, faith and labor leaders. A petition urged the team to “take a moral stand” against immigration enforcement in LA.
“The Dodgers aren’t just a team—they’re part of the soul of Los Angeles,” the petition read. “Latino families—who make up 40% of the Dodgers’ fan base and contribute $300 million in annual revenue—deserve more than silence.”
To Piñon, that message was deafening. “That was the worst thing they could have done, to say, ‘Here’s some money, shut up,’” he said.
And he’s not alone. At the restaurant, he hears patrons voicing the same kind of disappointment.
“You get a lot of different people that come in here, and sometimes you get to absorb some of that energy and some of those feelings,” Piñon said. “Our patrons are our community. It’s my neighbors, it’s the people that we go jogging with, the Boyle Heights Bridge runners. It’s our local groups, the community as a whole, that this is affecting.”
“The last thing I want is for people to come in here and not feel celebrated… It’s time to move on,” he added.
The artwork will again be created by Sergio Robleto, the same artist who painted the original mural at the restaurant. Robleto will produce a live painting on plywood at the upcoming CicLAvia at Mariachi Plaza, which will temporarily cover the wall. A more permanent “community-oriented mural” is planned for early next year.
The mural has been altered before. Two years ago, Robleto also painted over a portion of the mural depicting Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías, who was suspended twice by Major League Baseball for violating policy on domestic violence and sexual assault. Piñon said his 10-year-old daughter was uncomfortable having him on the wall of his restaurant.
The new mural, he said, will “celebrate our people.”
“That doesn’t mean that Fernando will go away, because he’s a big part of my life. He’s just not going to be depicted with the corporation.”
Piñon envisioned taking his future grandkids to Dodger Stadium. Now, he plans on explaining to them why he took the mural down — and why the history of Chavez Ravine still matters.
“As a community, some of us forgave and moved on. A lot of us didn’t, but I was one of those that did, and it was mostly because we were supporting [Fernando Valenzuela] someone like us,” he said.
“This is going to have an effect on not just me, but future generations. We’re going to remember this, and it’s going to take a really long time for people to forgive again.”
At Distrito, Piñon will still show Dodgers games, but will focus on hosting watch parties for LAFC and Angel City FC games, teams that, he said, “understand who the people are in their stands.”
“That’s where the Dodgers are missing the mark,” he added.
Piñon knows he’s going to get pushback from some people. But he’s clear on where he stands.
“This is a community-first business. I’m going to roll the dice knowing that the odds are with me when I’m betting on my community and not on people that are, for lack of a better term, maybe haters.”
