“Mga Tagapagtanggol / The Guardians” by Annadid…

Mga Tagapagtanggol, or The Guardians, is a mural by Salem-based artist Anna Dugan, known as Annadidathing, painted under an MBTA underpass in downtown Lynn. The triptych shows three generations of women from her family, her grandmother, her mother and herself, dressed in traditional Filipino attire and standing guard to watch over travelers passing beneath the bridge. Organized by Beyond Walls, the work represents Filipino culture as an image of power, femininity and protection.

Each figure carries symbols. Dugan’s Lola holds pan de sal, recalling her saying “when they throw stones, throw bread back,” with a butterfly or moth behind her representing returning ancestors. Her Nanay wears pearls and pets a carabao, the Philippines’ national animal and a symbol of resiliency. Dugan paints herself wielding a fan, reclaimed as a symbol of feminine power, with a rising sun from the Filipino flag behind her.

What to Know

• Dugan completed the mural in just five days during the Beyond Walls tour in 2022.
• The piece pays homage to her first permanent public mural, a 2018 triptych of the same three women on Mount Vernon Street in Lynn.
• Dugan is a first-generation Filipino American who earned a BFA from UMass Lowell in 2013.