SHRINE WILL BE AN HONOR VALLEY ARTISAN'S WORK WILL GRACE NEW L.A. CATHEDRAL.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

MISSION HILLS - The call came like a summons from heaven: Would Lalo Garcia, son of a Mexican farm worker, build a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the grand cathedral being built in downtown Los Angeles?

He was honored, he replied. And humbled.

``I got my drums out and started dancing, I was so thrilled,'' Garcia, the Mission Hills artist and designer, recalled in an interview this week.

``I started shaking because I got scared ... because every Hispanic in L.A. is represented by this shrine.''

His jitters have passed since he was commissioned two years ago to create La Virgen de Guadalupe shrine at Our Lady of the Angels cathedral. And now Garcia is bringing La Virgen - and her aura - to life in the studio of his Mission Hills home.

On a wall hangs the framed La Virgen de Guadalupe icon given him by his mother from the bedroom once shared by their entire family in La Cieneguita, Michoacan, Mexico.

On a table in acrylic lies a life-size image of La Virgen, the resplendent mother of Christ, exactly as she was revealed in 1531 on the cloak of Aztec neophyte Juan Diego. The restored garment now hangs in a Mexico City basilica.

And in Garcia's heart burns a love for La Reina de Mexico - the Queen of Mexico, ``our second mother'' - for which he was chosen by three committees from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, led by Cardinal Roger Mahony, to erect her shrine.

``Lalo was chosen for not only his wonderful artistic talent, but for his wonderful sense of the sacred and his obvious love for Our Lady of Guadalupe,'' said the Rev. Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, pastor of the $163 million Our Lady of Angels cathedral slated to open this fall.

``The cathedral is about children, and he has captured well the vitality and energy of youth in the City of Angels,'' he said. ``We are honored he will grace our cathedral with his art.''

Garcia's shrine, to be inset in the cathedral plaza wall, is of a simple but elegant design.

A 6-by-14-foot tile fresco of the radiant Virgin will hang from the outside wall, visible to motorists traveling Highway 101.

Inside, within a small alcove, will hang a triptych of tile murals. In the center will hang the Virgen Peligrina, a replica of the Mexico City original, surrounded by a cloak of Juan Diego held aloft by an Aztec and Spanish angel.

To the left, on a narrow wall, will hang a kneeling Juan Diego; to the right, backlighted by a small window, will hang a larger ``Angelenos'' mural of children of various races, whose images Garcia culled from photos of San Fernando Valley schoolchildren.

A Latin inscription once uttered by a pope to bless New Spain with protection from La Virgen will read, ``Non Fecit Taliter Omni Nationi'' - or ``She hath not dealt so with any other nation.''

The entire artwork, glazed and fired on clay in the ancient Mexican talavera style, will be launched by Garcia this month with help from artisans in a prestigious studio in Pueblo, Mexico.

By spring it will be ready to hang above 400 votive candles.

``It's exquisite,'' said the 49-year-old father of four, stroking the Virgin Mother's head, the only completed portion of his shrine, whose downcast eyes he hopes will inspire generations of travelers. ``I have designed it to almost look like stained glass.''

She will face the freeway, he said. As people pass, old men will tip their hats. Old women will cross themselves. Children will be safe.

``I can hear it. I can hear it,'' he says, talking with his hands, though a bristling mustache. ``They'll say, I hope you'll accompany me on our trip.''

Garcia knows about trips. When he was 13, he moved from Mexico to North Hollywood to join his father, a cook who had come to the United States as part of the bracero farm worker program.

Lonely for his village, he drew farm animals on paper sacks. At Polytechnic High School, however, he excelled at art. At Valley College, he found his calling as a sign painter.

Before long, he was designing church vestments and miters for Pope John Paul II and 350 church bishops who joined him during a visit to Los Angeles.

To appease his Aztec roots, he founded the Grupo Folklorico Fiesta Mexicana in San Fernando. With his bright feather headdress and huehuetl drum, he twice toured with Linda Ronstadt.

Garcia's art has been shown throughout the West. Twenty Garcia pieces - all of which contain a subtle image of the blessed Virgin - now hang in the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles.

Other Garcia designs adorn churches in La Mirada, Alhambra, San Fernando and Woodland Hills.

``I couldn't recommend him enough,'' said the Monsignor Paul Dotson, former pastor of St. Bernardine of Siena Catholic Church in Woodland Hills, who commissioned ``Christ the Leader'' and ``Tabernacle of Angels'' murals from Garcia.

``I had an idea what I wanted, but Lalo came back with a phenomenal piece. ... He has a deep spirituality.''

Garcia rarely goes to Mass. His house, however, is filled with crucifixes, images of the Virgen de Guadalupe and religious portraits.

As a child, he said, his first kiss came from the dangling Virgen necklace from his mother's breast, before she pressed her lips to his.

``There will never be another task as important as this shrine,'' he said of the Virgen de Guadalupe. ``If you look at my work, she's always there. I know Guadalupe ... she is the true essence of the Mexican people.

``It's strange, how it's the same image, but I never get tired of drawing her.

``Never.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Artist Lalo Garcia is creating a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe for a new cathedral.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Construction of the Our Lady of the Angels cathedral in Los Angeles is nearly complete.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer