Gone But Definitely Not Forgotten

Jose Orengo (1977-2001)
artist: Ariel Moreno

Three women left me some touching comments today about the memorial murals and r.i.p. graffiti of their loved ones that they found on my blog. The first was Sharon Orengo Watkins, who wrote about her brother Jose Orengo, who died of cancer, and whose gorgeous memorial mural I photographed last August:

I want to say Thank You for putting up this picture of my brother! It means a lot to me. I just found it. I was just hoping that you could correct some information. He was born in Dec. 10, 1977 and died December 4, 2001... he was 23. In case you want to know… it was done by Ariel Moreno from INKSPOT in Queens. Ari also drew this one [the attached photo]. Jose was loved by many many people… my father owned the store that serviced that community for many years… I hope that you can make a note of that.

DesiLou comments on the r.i.p. graffiti, now covered up, that I photographed in April last year about her friend Luis:

I don't even remember how I came across this website.. but I began looking through these pictures out of curiosity after I saw my brother's best friends mural "Rest In Peace Jose"... I kept scrolling down, and here it was.. R.I.P. Luis.. 5.06.07...
My god-daughters sister did this, after my childhood friend / boyfriend was killed.. I wish we could have made a better one, so that you can all see how handsome he was..
RIP Luis

And finally, Dora wrote about her brother Pablo, whose memorial mural I photographed in February of this year:

Hi. I'm Dora. Pablo, the name on the mural, is my little brother. He was 19 when he was shot on Myrtle Ave and Bedford Ave. You will find my nickname, Poocho, on the was w/ the series of names. I'm the second one. How these pics gone on here, I don't know. I'm shocked. An old buddy who used to live in NY just sent me this link and Thank you Sharon.

Pablo was not killed over a girlfriend either. The wall is a metal gate not wood (minor detail). Pablo was hanging out with Betziada and several other girls. This was at the time where every one owned a beeper. There was and still is a public phone Myrtle and Bedford. This is the phone everyone who hung out within our clic used. Well, one Friday evening Pablo and the girls were hanging out. The girls decided to yell at some guys or rather, nowadays the word is holla, and the guys stopped on the corner of M and B, a few yards in front of the phone. My brother was on the phone with his best buddy Ivan. Betzaida was over talking to the guys in the car. Ivan asked if Betzaida was there. Pablo said, "Yea. She just stopped some guys and is now talking to them." Ivan said, "Call her over to the phone." Pablo said, "Okay!" Pablo called her. The driver of the car came out and asked why my brother was disrespecting him. My brother tried to explain. The driver punched my brother in his face and the passenger came out of the car and shot my brother. My brother had no clue nor a chance to defend himself. My brother asked these girls to never call any guys over when he is hanging with them because he was always afraid something like this would happen. It did. My brother had no girlfriend and no chance to live out his life. He was a college student who was full of life and one hell of a funny character.

Well, thank you for posting his pic and for having an interest in his mural. His friends got together and decided to make this mural. It is falling apart; however, a new one is being thought up and maybe put up in the near future. :D He lived in the house right next to the picture.

Thank you Sharon, DesiLou and Dora for sharing your stories with me, I'm so very sorry about your loss. If anyone else knows the back stories to any of the other murals I've pictured, or have photographs of their loved ones from the murals that they'd like to share, please write me and let me know. I'm also glad to find out more about the artists who painted these murals. The above emails, full of love and heartbreak, are a clear indication of just how important these memorial murals are to our community and why they need to be preserved.