New mural near Throop Park commemorates David ‘Boogie’ Gonzalez, violence reducer killed in Chicago’s Pilsen shooting in 1973

CHICAGO (Wales) — “Boogie is alive.”

That was the message dozens of people heard in Pilsen Throop Park on a cold Saturday morning.

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“He’s a movement. He’s someone who sacrificed his life for unity within Pilsen,” said Victoria Guy, Boogie’s niece.

David “Boogie” Gonzalez was a leading figure and one of the first to reduce the violence in Pilsen.

He worked to stop the gang war on 18th Street, but was tragically shot and killed in a drive-by in 1973, when he was just 23 years old.

His niece, Victoria, says he lived to provide a sense of hope to young people in the community.

“He wanted to give young people a different image or something outside of these four blocks,” he said.

SEE ALSO | How did Pilsen transform from Bohemian neighborhood to the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community?

A colorful mural has been unveiled next to Throop Park to continue Boogie’s legacy of peace.

“I started listening to him and doing things that would make me a better person,” muralist Rufus Linus Jr. said.

The mural artist says he knew Boogie and is honored to help creatively share his memories with others.

He says it took three weeks to complete.

“In the rain, in the cold. We worked hard day and night, we worked hard,” Rufus said.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who represents the 25th Ward, said during the mural unveiling that the tireless work done to keep Boogie’s memory alive will change lives.

“If we don’t know our history, we can’t change it,” he said.

Organizers are now circulating a petition through the community to rename Throop Park for Boogie.