Patriotic mural to be unveiled, Nov. 4

Provided.

Mark Pestana.

On Monday, Nov. 4 at 11 a.m., a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held to unveil a patriotic mural at VFW Post 5948.

Local artist and retired Air Force Colonel Mark Pestana has painted a mural representing the branches of the military on a city-owned utility box outside the VFW. This new artwork is part of Make Art Tehachapi's ongoing efforts to create, protect and preserve the historic murals in Downtown Tehachapi.

VFW Tehachapi Mountain Post 5948 is located at 221 W. Tehachapi Blvd. Pestana served in the U.S. Air Force for 28 years, spending half of that time as a reservist at Edwards Air Force Base. He is currently a faculty member at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering. Pestana also worked as a research pilot at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and is active in various art organizations, including the U.S. Air Force Art Program. His aerospace artwork is featured in private, corporate and government collections, including 14 pieces displayed at the Pentagon. A former USAF space operations engineer and command pilot, Pestana logged over 5,000 flight hours and flew 213 combat intelligence sorties. He also worked as a NASA flight crew operations engineer and has designed nine Space Shuttle mission patches.

Make Art Tehachapi is a team formed through the Tehachapi Valley Arts Association. Their efforts have already led to the restoration of several murals, including the 1915 Dance on Green Street, The Legend of Avelino Martinez and T-Hatcha-P Brand murals. They are currently repairing the "People of the Mountains: The Nuwä Tribe" mural.

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