Behind the Scenes at Judy Baca's Guadalupe Mural Project, 1988-89

Melinda Palacio

Photo by Rod Rolle

Photo by Rod Rolle

"The Big Picture" by Rod Rolle, a town portrait.

In 1988, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission partnered with Dr. Judith Baca to create a mural representing life in the central coast town of Guadalupe. Rod Rolle, a then recent graduate of the Brooks Institute of Photography was assigned to provide photos of everyday life in Guadalupe. The photographs provided the backdrop for Baca's mural. Dr. Baca asked Rolle to photograph a broad spectrum of life in Guadalupe. Before moving to Santa Barbara from Queens, Rolle had a fascination with highway 1 and he was pleased when he found out his first big commission would be photographing a community located off the fabled highway. Rolle describes Guadalupe as a farming community that looks like a town, that looks like a city. For him, Guadalupe is a goldmine in terms of its diverse history. He has fond memories of taking photos of the town. 

The result is the Guadalulpe Mural Project and the photographs that captured life in the unique community. There's even a photo of everyone available in the town at the time, titled "The Big Picture," which was ultimately displayed in the Smithsonian Museum. For over a year, Rolle travelled to Guadalupe to photograph the town's history. Baca asked him to document the town's past and present. A walk through the town's beautiful cemetery tells the town's diverse story from farmworkers to Chinese railroad workers. Many of the collected photos from Rolle's work with Baca were displayed in Santa Maria and have now travelled to their new home at the Santa Barbara County Building, where you can see "Spirit of a Community: Guadalupe, CA 1988-1989," on display. 

More of the collection can be seen in a youtube video put together by Rod Rolle, who also happens to be an accomplished musician. Fans familiar with the Stiff Pickle Orchestra know Rod Rolle as a drummer and vocalist. The Santa Barbara Blues Society selected Rolle and Stiff Pickle Orchestra Band Leader, Tom Murray, to represent Santa Barbara in Memphis for the International Blues Challenge.

 A trip to the central coast should include this photography exhibit, now located at 123 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 9310, especially if you've been to the town famous for its scenes in the movie the Ten Commandments or if you've seen Baca's Mural, depicting the complex and diverse history of Guadalupe.

Rod Rolle, Photo by Erica Urech