After more than two months of restoration the Hollywood sign was finally completed yesterday, where a group of hard working veteran Latino painters got down and dirty so that the symbol of Tinseltown can shine like new once again.

Hanging through the air with just a harness under the California sun, Victor Galindo and his team of spray surgeons with just a few broad brushes removed some aging years off the iconic letters, which they all had often seen from afar, but never imagined they would become part of its history someday.

"You feel happy and it also gives you some sort of pride. Since I was a young boy I have seen the sign, and always wanted to come to visit it," said Galindo in an interview with Efe.

At 37 years of age and with nearly two decades as a professional, this natural foreman from Tijuana, Mexico, was commissioned to command this task accompanied by Juan Reyes, who is 26 years old and has over six years of experience in the profession that has allowed him today what he described as a "a unique experience".

The iconic sign was originally "Hollywoodland" on the slopes of Mount Lee, which is now part of Griffith Park that in 1923 it was a property that was claimed, and a few years later it then became a tourist attraction associated with the film production industry.

The history of this iconic sign just like in all good movies, it comes along with some drama of its own, which In 1932 a young actress by the name of Peg Entwistle committed suicide by jumping from the top of the letter "H", and throughout the 1940’s it went through a severe deterioration phase, which in 1949 the city of Los Angeles decided to restore the sign and had the "land" part removed, and was adopted just as Hollywood.

In 1978 it was necessary for the authorities along with the support of celebrities such as singer Alice Cooper or the founder of Playboy, millionaire Hugh Hefner, intervened to restore it again after a termite infestation and some fires.

The Hollywood sign will be 90 years old in 2013, and will enter a new year with a rejuvenated look that everyone can enjoy for many more years to come.

Editorial@sandiegored.com

Translation : Omar.Martinez@sandiegored.com