The Saturday celebration at Robert Vargas Square featured free art supplies from Vans and Blick Art Materials and at least one member of the Black Eyed Peas, as the city marked the fifth annual Robert Vargas Day at the intersection of 1st and State Streets. The free, all-ages celebration ran from noon to 5 p.m. and centered on an art station where school-aged children could work alongside Vargas and other established artists.
According to KTLA, the celebration is designed to help young people pursue their creativity and dreams, with Vargas himself recommending that aspiring artists start simple: grab a sketchpad and let their imaginations loose. The Boyle Heights native said sketchbooks help people express ideas through writing or drawing, and that the practice supports children's creative health. Taboo, the Los Angeles native and Black Eyed Peas member, arrived at the square to join the festivities, telling the outlet that Vargas represents East Los Angeles at its finest.
Three Governments, Three Different Dates
The City of Los Angeles proclaimed September 8 as Robert Vargas Day, according to a report from Rafu Shimpo, with city officials selecting that date to honor the birthday of Vargas's father. The recognition has since multiplied well beyond city hall. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in January to proclaim January 24 — the birthday of Vargas's mother — as Robert Vargas Day countywide, per the same report, with Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis authoring the county motion.
An April 21 meeting order from the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education lists adopted items, according to a document posted by Edlio.
A Square Named for a Neighborhood Artist
The annual gathering takes place at Robert Vargas Square, the corner of 1st and State Streets that was officially designated and unveiled in his honor in December 2022, following a motion led by then-LA City Councilmember Kevin de León, according to The LA Local. The square sits one block from a Vargas mural on First Street, cementing the location as a fitting home base for an artist who grew up watching murals cover nearly every corner of his native Boyle Heights.
Vargas has said he uses Robert Vargas Day as a platform to give back to the next generation and to make Robert Vargas Square a destination for the arts. KTLA reported that Vargas unveiled the mural on September 8 as a separate activity connected to Robert Vargas Day.
From Little Tokyo to a Guinness Record Bid
The neighborhood celebration is a small slice of a public art career that has landed Vargas commissions across the region. In March 2024, he completed “L.A. Rising,” a 150-by-60-foot freehand mural of Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo, according to The LA Local, complete with an interactive QR code that lets visitors watch an animated version of Ohtani pitching and batting.
Downtown, Vargas has spent years working on “Angelus,” a 12-story, 60,000-square-foot mural at 5th and Hill Streets facing Pershing Square that he hopes will set a Guinness World Record for the largest mural painted by a single artist, according to LA Weekly. The piece weaves together Tongva Indigenous history and a multicultural Los Angeles theme, all painted freehand without grids or projections. Hoodline previously reported on a mural dedication where civil rights leader Dolores Huerta appeared alongside Vargas in downtown LA.
Murals That Speak to the Moment
Vargas's work has also turned toward social commentary closer to home. Vargas's work has also included social commentary.
Just last month, Vargas unveiled another mural on 4th Street across from Roosevelt High School honoring Chicano Studies pioneer and Boyle Heights native Rudy Acuña, according to Boyle Heights Beat. Vargas has also painted community-focused work outside his home neighborhood, including “Nourishing the Community,” a three-story mural on Project Angel Food's Vine Street headquarters in Hollywood.
Vargas grew up in Boyle Heights and attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Across his career, Vargas has continued to paint his large-scale works freehand, relying on direct visual reference rather than grids or projected outlines — the same hands-on approach that drew families back to Robert Vargas Square this weekend.
