CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — Guillermo Virchis and Oscar Romo are two very different people. One of them is an actor …
“I was an actor when I was nine years old," Virchis said. "It was at the old globe theater and hardly spoke English. I spoke Shakespeare before I spoke English.”
... the other, an environmental activist.
“I introduced a number of ideas to the City about public transportation, self-driving vehicles,” Romo said.
But they share the same space on the wall of Chula Vista City Hall.
“How does it feel to see your faces on the walls of City Hall?”
“Well it’s been up in police stations and FBI stations, no I'm just kidding," Virchis said. "It's a humbling experience to be on these walls and to have people tell your story.”
This new exhibit celebrates Chula vista legacies who helped build the city into what it is today. If you want to learn more about one of them, you can scan a QR code underneath their picture.
“It’s been an honor, I’ve been doing this mostly in silence," Romo said. "To be recognized with my picture in City Hall, it’s amazing."
Romo and Virchis are two of twelve influential people who Ken Jacques interviewed and photographed for the exhibit. It also features former mayors, restaurant owners, and teachers.
“There’s a lot of people in Chula Vista who are like well, 'How did we get here?' Well this is the start of some of those stories,” Jacques said.
Jacques says the diversity of leadership in the exhibit is a portrayal of the city itself.
“Chula Vista is not a community of just whites, or just Hispanic or just black. Each street has a full blend. It’s wonderful, and that’s the model it should be for the rest of the country,” Jacques said.
If you’d like to check out the exhibit yourself, it'll be at City Hall until the end of August.
