Robert Vargas was always interested in painting community.

Vargas’ art can be seen throughout Los Angeles. It’s impossible to miss his giant murals of famous Dodgers Shohei Ohtani in Little Tokyo and Fernando Valenzuela in his home neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

Despite being a huge Dodgers fan, he was far more interested in the diversity those two players represent in a city like L.A.

Born in Boyle Heights, Vargas is a fifth-generation Angeleno. Though he’s traveled the world, painting murals in Japan and New York, it’s Los Angeles where he discovered his ability to shape a city’s history through art.

“[Los Angeles] is home,” said Vargas. “I feel maybe a little bit more parental about the image I put up here, because it is my community. I’m always preaching about advocating for the wo

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