California town gets 'Surfing Madonna'

ENCINITAS, Calif., April 26 (UPI) -- A California coastal city renowned for its surfing is now home to a "surfing Madonna," a stained-glass mosaic installed by a crew of faux construction workers.

One afternoon this past weekend -- precisely when known only to those responsible -- a group of people wearing hard hats to pass as construction workers attached a 10-foot square stained-glass mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe in surfing posture and wearing booties to a wall supporting a train overpass in Encinitas, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.

The face of St. Juan Diego is depicted on the nose of the surfboard and "Save the Ocean" is seen along the side of the piece.

Fred Caldwell, owner of Coast Highway 101 Design in Leucadia, said he was familiar with mosaic artists disguising themselves in official-looking orange suits while posting their artwork.

No matter how aesthetically pleasing to some, The Lady of Guadalupe mosaic is on public property and may have to come down.

"Good art or bad art, it's still defacing," said Encinitas Planning Director Patrick Murphy.