Painting with Pride

Angeli Cabal, an HHSA Community Health Promotion office assistant, spent many hours working on her “Bloom where you are planted” utility box art-work at the corner of Magnolia and Avocado in El Cajon

Anyone driving by the corner of Magnolia and Avocado in El Cajon who notices the freshly painted utility box will see a little bit of Angeli Cabal’s heart and soul on display for the community to enjoy.

Cabal, an HHSA Community Health Promotion office assistant in El Cajon, realized a lifelong dream when she was selected as one of six local artists to participate in the project to add more artwork to downtown El Cajon.

“Ever since I was younger, I wanted to paint a utility box,” Cabal said. “I’ve always done art as a hobby, and when I would walk home from school I always wanted to paint a utility box.”

She’d have to wait until she was an adult to make it happen, though. As a youth, she researched what it would take to paint one of the boxes and found out it was a long approval process that had to go through the proper government channels.

But fast forward to the present and Cabal leapt at the chance to submit a design to the El Cajon Resident Leaders in Action, which made adding new utility box paintings a project to encourage civic engagement and support the art community. Members of the Resident Leaders in Action are graduates of HHSA’s Resident Leadership Academy. 

Cabal said she chose her design centered on the quote, “Bloom where you are planted,” to tie into the El Cajon Farmers Market.

“They wanted a design that emphasized the farmers market because the location is close to the market,” she said. “The artwork emphasizes community building. El Cajon is up-and-coming and I wanted to encapsulate that.”

Painting the box took a couple of months with a break in between. Cabal would go for a few hours after work and made steady progress.

“My co-workers on the community health promotions team helped paint the base. It was a great team-building exercise.”

The art-work was unveiled during a community art walk held on Food Day recently. Cabal’s regional general manager Marie Brown-Mercadel and several co-workers joined her on the walk to see her design.

The project was funded by grants from SDG&E with additional funds from community members and art supporters. HHSA, the San Diego Foundation and the El Cajon Collaborative provided support for the project.

“It was a really great experience,” Cabal said. “I feel grateful and lucky to have been chosen. To know that people drive by and walk by it every day is pretty amazing.”