With his hands covered in paint, Artist Robert Vargas watches the Yankuititl Aztec Dance Group perform in Altadena on June 7, 2025, before the unveiling of his “From the Ashes” mural on the side of Fair Oaks Burgers. The artwork pays homage to the Eaton Fire victims. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Yankuititl Aztec Dance Group performs a ceremony in front of Fair Oaks Burgers before Artist Robert Vargas unveils his mural, “From the Ashes” on Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Altadena. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Community members watch the unveiling of Artist Robert Vargas’ mural, “From the Ashes”, during a ceremony in Altadena on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Orion Nicholson, 2, left, and his sister, Eurydice, 7 months, watch the dedication ceremony of artist Robert Vargas’ mural, “From the Ashes,” in Altadena on Saturday, June 7, 2025. The artwork is painted on the side of Fair Oaks Burgers, the only remaining structure on the block that wasn’t destroyed by the Eaton fire. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Koa Matsuno, 5, left, and his brother Kai, 3, are intrigued by the brightly costumed Yankuititl Aztec Dancers during a ceremony unveiling artist Robert Vargas’ mural, “From the Ashes,” in Altadena on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Yankuititl Aztec Dance Group performs a ceremony in front of Fair Oaks Burgers before Artist Robert Vargas unveils a mural outside the restaurant entitled, “From the Ashes” on Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Altadena. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Artist Robert Vargas acknowledges the crowd on Saturday, June 7, 2025. after signing his mural, “From the Ashes,” that pays homage to Altadena fire victims. The painting adorns the Fair Oaks Burgers building, the only remaining structure on the block that wasn’t destroyed by the Eaton fire.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Artist Robert Vargas’ mural, “From the Ashes,” is unveiled on the side of Fair Oaks Burgers in Altadena on Saturday, June 7, 2025. The artwork pays homage to victims of the Eaton Fire. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Yankuititl Aztec Dance Group performs a ceremony in front of Fair Oaks Burgers before Artist Robert Vargas unveils his mural, “From the Ashes” on Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Altadena. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Paul Fonseca, right, helps unveil artist Robert Vargas’ mural, “From the Ashes,” on Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Altadena. The artwork pays homage to Eaton Fire victims. Fonseca, who lost his home in Dec.’s fires, says he likes to volunteer whenever possible to help his community. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Artist Robert Vargas speaks in Altadena on Saturday, June 7, 2025, before the unveiling of his mural, “From the Ashes,” painted on the side of Fair Oaks Burgers. It is the only structure on the block that survived the Eaton fire. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 11With his hands covered in paint, Artist Robert Vargas watches the Yankuititl Aztec Dance Group perform in Altadena on June 7, 2025, before the unveiling of his “From the Ashes” mural on the side of Fair Oaks Burgers. The artwork pays homage to the Eaton Fire victims. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) ExpandLos Angeles-based artist Robert Vargas unveiled his mural for Altadena Saturday morning titled “From the Ashes.”
The mural, painted on the side of longstanding Altadena restaurant Fair Oaks Burger, attracted hundreds of people gathered at the Altadena eatery.
They watched Vargas paint the last details of his piece, just minutes before its unveiling. Some were in line for the free, weekly farmer’s market in Fair Oaks Burger’s parking lot.
“From the Ashes” shows a young girl holding a flower in one hand and a teddy bear in the other wearing a shirt that says “HOME.”
The young girl is wearing a shirt filled with a mélange of characteristics that are uniquely “Altadena,” from the horses that could be seen walking around neighborhoods, to the jersey of L.A. Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson, who lived in the area.
It also pays tribute to the city’s everyday heroes: first responders, construction workers, Janet and Christy Lee, owners of Fair Oaks Burger, a basket of produce, symbolizing Food for Health’s free farmer’s market, and neighbors sharing an embrace.
Janet Lee, of Fair Oaks Burger, said she was “shocked” to see her and her sister’s face on the mural.
“I hope that people look at [the mural] and see themselves in it,” said Janet.
Similarly, Ann Byrd views the mural as symbolic of “hope and joy.”
“I see the different eyes and I know there’s hope,” said Byrd, who’s lived in Altadena since the 1960s and lost her home in the Eaton fire.
Byrd was joined by Monique Yamaguchi, who’s working with Byrd on rebuilding her home. She sees the young girl at the center of the mural as representative of “[the] joy and everything that’s still to come.”
The artist, well-known for his large-scale mural of Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani in Little Tokyo, uses his art as a vehicle for telling stories about the communities he paints in. He speaks with residents to inform his artistic process, as a way of sketching out the mural in his mind.
“There’s so many stories that were told to me. One way I thought of embedding those stories into this wall was — if you imagine the figure that’s in the center, that’s kind of like this house, and all of these stories that I heard throughout the last couple of days are in this house,” Vargas explained.
Vargas had been painting since Wednesday morning, even working through the night before its unveiling. Over the past three days, many Altadena residents stopped by the mural, with some even bringing Vargas food, to tell him about their stories.
“The mural has brought [residents] back, and I’m so glad to see other people come here to support the mural. But really, underneath it all, this is to support the community of Altadena,” Vargas said.
Vargas then signed the mural, symbolically handing it over to the community.
“Altadena, it is now yours,” Vargas proclaimed.
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