![Héctor Castellanos Lara works in his studio. [Dave DeOreo / Ideastream Public Media]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/db0e0a6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2022%2F06%2F1104284680_816127668.jpg)
Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Héctor Castellanos Lara has made a tremendous impact on the Northeast Ohio arts and culture community since his arrival in 1990.
Whether it's creating floats for Parade the Circle, making sidewalk art at Chalk Fest or celebrating the Day of the Dead with Día de Muertos, Castellanos Lara loves to share his Latino heritage.
Héctor Castellanos Lara with a prototype of his Gateway Monument. [Jean-Marie Papoi / Ideastream Public Media]
Currently, he's working on something new for Art House in Cleveland's Brooklyn Center neighborhood with a group of young Latino refugees - "The Gateway Monument."
Immigrant volunteers begin to build Héctor Castellanos Lara's "Gateway Monument" at the Art House in Cleveland. [Héctor Castellanos Lara ]
"You can see there are no walls, so you can come through different directions inside. And that was the main idea. You know, we don't need walls," Castellanos Lara said.
"The Gateway Monument" is scheduled to open later this summer.
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