Day laborers gather around a white building just north of Colfax Avenue each morning.
On some days, they find two to three gigs moving boxes and painting houses. These days, they've been collaborating with a well-known urban artist on a mural.
"My vision is to capture what the community represents, what day laborers do day-to-day," artist Bimmer Torres said.
The artist was selected by the city of Aurora to paint a mural on the Dayton day labor center.
The mural is near to Torres' heart because his grandfather was also a day laborer.
"At the time I was a child, I didn't understand but now I understand," Torres said. "He was trying to provide for his family and himself. Trying to stay afloat, you know...with whatever job came his way."
Torres hopes the mural will be a source of inspiration for the day laborers who wait for work outside of the center.
"This idea came because several local community members came together to preserve the building and keep it from being demolished," Mateos Alvarez, executive director of the center said.
Alvarez said it was important for day laborers to contribute to the beautification of Aurora.
"It's been amazing to watch this unfold and watching someone of the day laborers commit to helping Bimmer Torres," Alvarez said. "Brings out the creative side of our day laborers who don't get to focus on that because they're so focused on working to provide for their family."
The mural is more than simply making a building look more pleasant. The city hopes the mural is a catalyst to bring revitalization for original Aurora.
"It's been a place that's been forgotten in the past. There's a misunderstanding of who lives here and who works here," Alvarez said. "They really want to provide the positive aspects of our particular community here, so there's less misunderstanding moving forward."
Torres said he expects to finish the mural by next week with the help of the day laborers.
If you'd like to see more of Torres' works, follow his instagram @bimmer_t
