< The Latest 2025-05-29T14:44:45+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Wed 05/28 08:03am PST | Jarret Liotta
It was a five-year journey that brought the husband-and-wife creative team that composes “Greetings Tour” into this area to stay.
On Tuesday, the couple was thrilled to see the unveiling of their newest postcard mural celebrating Monterey Park, at 157 E. Garvey Ave., at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue, which they hope depicts the spirit and cultural identity of the community.
“We wanted to create something that was very positive and timeless,” explained Victor Ving, who along with his wife, photographer Lisa Beggs, have created more than 70 murals in 30 states throughout the country.
Monterey Park, where Ving’s parents live, is also the place the couple evacuated to, along with their 3-year-old son, Felix, when the Eaton fire threatened their Pasadena home.
“I’ve driven down that block so many times before (and) it really does brighten up that environment,” Ving said. “It’s kind of right in the heart of the city. I’m proud to see it.”
With May marking the 109th birthday of Monterey Park, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was also a chance to celebrate other local artists who contributed their work to the project.
“I’ve met so many local artists … I hope it will lead to more opportunities for them,” Ving said. “They love to paint murals and I’m all for it.”
Collaborators included “Vyal” Reyes, who added imagery honoring Cinco de Mayo and Chicano heritage, and River Garza, an Indigenous Tongva artist who added imagery honoring the area’s first residents. Dominic Corry, Ernie Nazarian, Abner Ramos, and David Wang also took part in documenting the mural creation.
“All imagery was selected through a public vote,” Ving said, with the 18-foot-high bright blue and orange mural that reads “Greetings from Monterey Park CA” containing a colorful melange of iconic locations and images, including Garvey Ranch Park Observatory, Cascades Park Waterfall, and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Ving, who grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, cut his teeth as a street artist.
“I’ve never had any formal art training,” he said. “I got in trouble doing it, growing up in New York.”
In 2015, he and Beggs, an Ohio native, completed their first mural at the corner of Allen and Canal streets, which declared, “Greetings from Chinatown.”
“From that mural, we just saw the potential,” said Ving, with the couple loading up a 24-foot RV and spending the next five years driving around North America creating murals. Their themed creations, which share the bright color and design of vintage postcards, can now be seen in Alaska, Maine, Texas, North Dakota, Mississippi, and dozens of other states.
The new mural is special to Ving for several reasons, in part because it harkens back to his roots as a Chinese-American. The unveiling is also in time for AAPI Heritage Month, which he said aligns with the mural’s Chinese and Japanese cultural themes.
For Ving, the best part of the mural projects, however, is the chance to lend exposure to other local artists.
“Having these collaborations, it’s nice to kind of give them a piece of this … Hopefully these are baby steps in bringing more public art to the city,” he said.
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.