Letter: Lawsuits against City Hinder Unity, Culture and the Arts

ART GUEVARA, Lake Forest

For nearly 30 years I have participated in community events, helping San Juan Capistrano—my beloved town—to grow by bringing art and culture to its people. This journey has been a source of personal fulfillment and I’ve learned a lot about our community.

I have done art exhibits for over 10 years at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library, Los Rios Historic District, the Mission Courtyard, and the Camino Real Playhouse. I started the San Juan Capistrano Art Walk, which once brought over 10,000 people to Los Rios Street. My art also helped to bring 3,500 people to the first Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibit at the library.

With my art, I strive to convey a message to our communities—to stay together and have quality time with the whole family through the arts.

It makes me sad that while we make tremendous sacrifices to improve the quality of life of our community, lawsuits have now taken over our town.

Nonsense lawsuits have paralyzed our town to the point of nearly filing for bankruptcy. We must remember that San Juan Capistrano relies on tourism, and that negative publicity can deter tourists from coming to what was once a vibrant, colorful, artistic village. That was the way San Juan was 40 years ago.

Today, San Juan Capistrano is one of the only cities in the area without grants for artists.

In the name of all who love this town and the arts, I would like to ask all involved in these nonsense lawsuits to drop all litigation against each other and start working together for the betterment of our beautiful village.

Let’s start 2018 with fresh ideas. Let’s clean the house of frivolous lawsuits—forget about your differences and start a new chapter of San Juan Capistrano’s story.

Do not hold any animosity against anyone. Just shake hands and forget about all perceived grievances. Let’s bring peace, harmony, and arts and culture to our town to attract more tourism, and show the world that we are a civilized community.

Peace to all and happy holidays. God bless you all!