Finding Home Through Art, Beauty and Grime

Fabian Debora:

I always thought the L.A. River was like the main artery that comes from the heart of Los Angeles, because in that L.A. River, it’s also a sense of peace. It’s almost like a city away from the city.

My name is Fabian Debora. I’m an artist of Boyle Heights, and I’m also the founder and executive director of the Homeboy Art Academy.

To me, home is Los Angeles. To be a little bit more specific, I would say Boyle Heights, the East Side. El este de Los Ángeles.

I’ve seen a lot with these eyes, and some of the things I saw, I wouldn’t recommend for anyone, or even wish on anyone.

It’s a pretty scary place, especially when you’re in this addiction, And, you know, there’s death, right, violence. There’s … there’s a lot of things that one does, in order to survive.

In between culture, familia, immigrants, there was gangs.

And as a kid, you know, that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I didn’t grow up saying, “I’m going to be a gang member when I grow up.” But because of the environments we come from, you know, in between beauty, there’s grime.

So the L.A. River played a major role in my life, where I would go down there, I will bring my sketchbooks, sometimes my spray cans, and I will start to create my own worlds. 

And so for me the L.A. River will be a refuge. A way to get away from the housing projects.

I always respond to those bridges because it’s almost a sense of transcendence from the East Side to the West Side. Right? Like evolution, growth, hope. 

I started to unpackage everything that I was running from, what I was running from, was that of abuse, neglect, abandonment, everything that my father instilled behind his drug addiction. 

And I said, I’m gonna pick up the pieces of the puzzle where my father left off, and I’m going to continue pushing and doing what we have to do. 

As I start to change my life, I start to make sure that there is no more abuse, neglect, and abandonment in my household, but that there’s nothing but love, compassion and understanding. Everything a child needs to sustain his innocence. 

And if it wasn’t for those experiences that one goes through, and has gone through, then there’s no appreciation for life.

I come to the studio at 4 a.m. 

[Sounds of brush strokes]

And I continue to create for myself. By eight o’clock, the doorbell rings, ding ding and the youth start to arrive to the academy. 

[Sounds of people talking in the studio]

So it’s time to put the brush down, close the portal and be attentive to the youth.

We’re currently at the Homeboy Art Academy, which is the school of arts that I, for a long time, had envisioned to put together, right. I’m working with 18- to 25-year-old gang-involved youth, young men and women, and we provide all arts disciplines with the healing element.

The minute that I got clean and sober, I knew that I wanted to do something about this. And I didn’t want to continue to create a gap that exists within our environments in our communities.  

And thank God I was still here and that I’m still alive, to be able to convey this message not only for yourself, but for those who need to hear it, to let the world know that there is, that there is a possibility of change.

And I think there’s a lot of change happening, that is given those opportunities, you know, for folks like myself, and the new generations to come.

And I say that behind the culture, behind the tradition, behind my mother’s love and my wife, who stuck by me regardless of what I’ve done, and now my children, then I say, that’s home.