Cathedral City residents gathered at Esperanza Park on Saturday, Oct. 10, for the unveiling of “Rooted in Hope,” a permanent mural shaped by neighborhood input and a community paint day. The 9.5-by-30-foot artwork was created by Coachella Valley artist Autumn Martino for the Dream Homes neighborhood, where the park sits along the CV Link trail. The city listed the Oct. 10 event as free and open to all ages.
The mural covers the back wall of the park’s restroom building, facing the regional trail. The City of Cathedral City said Dream Homes residents selected Martino’s design from 58 submitted concepts. The announcement described the choice as a community vote, giving residents a role before the first brush reached the wall.
Martino developed the mural’s native plants and imagery in collaboration with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, according to the city. In NBC Palm Springs’ event-day report, Martino connected the theme “Esperanza Rising” to esperanza, the Spanish word for hope; she described a project about “hope and resilience” and what a community can do together.
Residents also helped paint the finished work. At the Sept. 12 Visions of the Future gathering, neighbors of different ages painted alongside Martino. NBC Palm Springs reported that participants helped with the background and flowers. Martino said the joint process shifted the work from a solo project to a shared one: “we all painted the mural.”
The Oct. 10 unveiling closed Esperanza Rising, a six-month community art and culture series. The city described it as a way to celebrate Dream Homes’ history, uplift resident voices and bring families together through creative expression. The schedule began with Echoes of the Past on April 11, continued with Voices of the Present on May 9 and Visions of the Future on Sept. 12, then ended with Together We Rise.
The city’s posted program for the finale listed a 9 a.m. welcome, remarks from Martino at 9:15, a book reading at 9:30, folklórico at 10 and live mariachi at 10:30. A later 11:30 slot was set for DJ music and community engagement. Hands-on art projects, a photo booth, face painting, and food and drinks while supplies lasted were also on the schedule. NBC’s event-day report independently confirmed the unveiling and described free family activities at the celebration.
Esperanza Rising was funded by a $98,000 California Arts in Parks grant. Cathedral City said it was one of 30 communities selected statewide from more than 200 applicants. The city’s Public Arts Commission and Desert Recreation District presented the series, with support from Parks California and Arts in California Parks.
Esperanza Park is a 7.5-acre recreation space at 30610 San Diego Drive in the historic Dream Homes neighborhood. City materials say residents asked for soccer and basketball, dog parks, shade and a connection to the CV Link regional path. The award report said the neighborhood had gone decades without a place to gather, placing the mural within a broader public-space partnership.
The mural also joins a park project with a longer community history. In a Sept. 24 report, the city said Dream Homes had waited decades for a park and that more than 1,000 residents helped design Esperanza Park. The city said the park partnership received the 2026 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence, presented Sept. 23 by the League of California Cities. The Oct. 10 mural unveiling added another public-art project to that shared site. The city said the award came in the category of Enhancing Public Trust, Ethics and Community Involvement, one of 12 statewide honorees that year. The city’s award entry was titled “Esperanza Park / Dream Homes Neighborhood Partnership” and described a decade of community engagement.
“Rooted in Hope” is the park’s second permanent public-art installation, joining an entryway sculpture that the city says was also inspired by community input. The mural faces a route used by trail users, cyclists and families. The project’s record links a resident-selected concept with a neighborhood paint day and a public unveiling
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