Mural for Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela coming to Boyle Heights

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — There will soon be a new mural in Boyle Heights honoring Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela.

Once completed, Valenzuela will be immortalized on the side of a residential building. It is visible from both directions of the 101 Freeway at 1st Street.

LA City Councilman Kevin de León's office commissioned artist Robert Vargas to paint the mural.

UPDATE: The Dodgers legend died Tuesday at age 63 due to undisclosed health issues.

Vargas' work is exhibited throughout the city of Los Angeles, including a mural by Shohei Ohtani in Little Tokyo.

“This mural will be an iconic mural. An immediate landmark that will not only be a great source of pride here for people who grew up with Fernando, but also allow the children of the future to look at a picture and see themselves,” Vargas said.

Fernando burst onto the scene in 1981 when he threw a shutout on Opening Day. From there, “Fernandomania” was born.

He became a hero, not just to the Latino community in Southern California, but across the country, pitching when the Dodgers were on the road.

“Fernando is not just a Dodger. Not just an athlete. He is a symbol … of hope, a symbol of aspiration and the fight for representation,” de León said at a news conference on Monday.

Playwright Josefina Lopez, whose works include “Real Women Have Curves,” remembers meeting the Dodger legend as a little girl in Boyle Heights.

“When I met him as a kid, I just thought 'Wow' when he signed my papers and I thought 'Wow, I met Fernando'.”

Work on the mural began the day after the Dodgers punched their ticket to the World Series.

Actor Edward James Olmos encouraged the audience to come and “view a masterpiece of the highest level of understanding.”

The mural will be completed by Nov. 1, which would have been Valenzuela's 64th birthday and, if necessary, Game 6 of the World Series.