Boyle Heights Beat

In the process of painting “Empowerment,” the budding muralist earned the Girl Scouts’ highest honor, the Gold Award.

“I am so grateful I got to paint this mural in Boyle Heights,” said the teen artist, who lives in Alhambra with her family.

“Seeing the face of little girls passing by and asking questions about the mural gave me a sense of accomplishment.”

The mural originally was to include only Latina figures, but the young artist decided on a more inclusive vision. “I want women of all different races to feel they’re represented,” said Isabel, who gathered input from her mother and community members for the project.

Among her choices, Isabel said she included DeGeneres because she wanted to represent LGBTQ pride and the Virgin of Guadalupe –the most ubiquitous image in Los Angeles murals–because she is Catholic “and she has been a part of my life all my life.”

The other historic figures in the mural are Mexican poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, astronaut Mae Jamison, author and activist Hellen Keller, Princess Diana of Wales, campaigner against slavery Susan B. Anthony and author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. The mural also includes two generic female figures: one a young girl and the other a mother and child.

Isabel also said she wanted “to remind people that we are a country of immigrants and that’s what makes us unique and beautiful, like the women in the mural.”