Push. Piano. Play. PDX
- #Jazzysdesign
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 19
Art title: Streetcar Stories: Tracks of Community
Painted directly onto a piano, blending visual art with music—two forms of expression that cross borders and speak without words. Learn more about the event and play a piano! Website link here.
Mark your calendars: July 18th, 2025. PDX. Director Park, 7:00 pm
When I joined a public art project at Montavilla Plaza, I focused on community and color—but my research took me much deeper. My project centers a streetcar not just as a visual element, but as a symbol of both freedom and control across two very different histories. Every canvas—even a piano—can carry messages of resistance and hope.
FRONT SIDE: my painting features a blue floral with blue streetcar, inspired by Talavera tile patterns— representation of Mexican artistry and resilience. The streetcar itself is more than a symbol of transportation; labor, injustice, and resistance
The inspiration came from an article my professor recommended: “Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: Rumor, Radicalized Sexuality, and the 1917 Bath Riots in the US-Mexico Borderlands” (Khanmalek, 2021). The story is on Carmelita Torres, a 17-year-old domestic worker who, in 1917, refused to step off a streetcar at the US-Mexico border to undergo mandatory chemical delousing. Border officials had been forcing Mexican workers, especially women, to strip and be sprayed with kerosene-based chemicals in the name of public health. Her refusal ignited what became known as the Bath Riots—a largely forgotten moment of resistance led by Mexican women. According to reports at the time, the riots began when officials ordered women off the streetcars headed for the disinfection plant. That story stayed with me as I painted: a streetcar not as simple transportation, but as a vessel of labor, power, and protest.
I placed farmworkers with skull faces—a tribute to both life and death, resilience and erasure. These figures represent the countless laborers whose stories remain hidden— mostly in today's political environment.
BACK SIDE: Represents Montavilla’s Streetcar History. The Portland’s early expansion.
The backside has its own rich history—a brighter side. This side is filled with vibrant people, communities working together, and the everyday diversity that shapes Portland.
The Montavilla streetcar line opened in 1892 as part of Portland’s City & Suburban Railway, this electrified streetcar network once connected neighborhoods to the heart of the city. For just a few cents, people could ride from SE Grand Avenue all the way to NE 82nd Avenue, making it possible to live farther from downtown. More than just transportation, the streetcar helped shape Montavilla’s growth—bringing workers, families, and businesses into new parts of Portland.
Click here for more on Montavilla streetcar article
Thank you to all of our sponsors: and Montavilla East Tabor Business
