Photographs by Bruce Berman
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ARTE Y RESISTENCIA
Segundo Barrio Residents Paint a Mural
By César Medina, El Diario De El Paso
AMONG PAINTS AND BRUSHES, residents and artists with international reputations are working on an art mural on Father Rahm Street in the south-central part of the city that shows important historical figures of this community. The artwork is a form of protest against the city’s redevelopment plan, said historian and activist David Romo.
The mural was started on Saturday (Christmas eve) and will probably be finished by the first part of January 2007, explained Francisco Delgado, a renowned artist originally from the Segundo Barrio. The planning process for the project began this summer. It took the artist one month to come up with the design for the huge work of art together with the community to decide which historic figures to place up on the wall, the artist added.
Artist Mauricio Olague, who also helped set up the project, thanked Ray Valdez from “Graffiti Wipeout" for helping clean up the wall where the mural is going up. “Many people including about 60 volunteers and organizations have donated time and money for the creation of this project such as County Attorney José Rodríguez who said he supports the project for involving youth in a positive activity. Felipe Luna, who is running for City Council representative in District 8 against Robert O’Rourke has also come down here to help the youth,” said Olague. Approximately $1,200 has been spent for the paints. The paints were expensive because they are the kind that last longer and had to be ordered from California, explained Olague.
“I’m taking part in this movement because I think it’s important that the community be united against this plan to tear down our neighborhood,” said Juan Adame, a student at Bowie High School.
According to artist Francisco Delgado, the mural has various messages. First, it is educational, for it teaches the history of the Segundo Barrio and some of the more important historical figures who lived in this neighborhood. It’s spiritual for it represents the history of the church in the community. It’s also artistic—artists of all skill levels have worked on this mural from Bowie High School students who paint as a hobby to acclaimed artists with professional reputations on both sides of the border. And it’s political as well, for it shows a cultural resistance against the downtown plan that will destroy many historic buildings.
This group plans to make history of its own by beautifying many of the neighborhood buildings and covering the entire area with art, said Delgado.
“They want to strip away the barrio’s cultural and historical heritage to put up a Wal-mart and a strip mall. The group that created this plan did it without the input of the community. We want change, but it should be done by including the people who live and work here. But they didn’t include anyone. They didn’t ask anyone in the neighborhood what they wanted. The people themselves should be allowed to beautify and fix up their own community,” said David Romo as well several residents of the Segundo Barrio.
Romo said that the history depicted on the mural isn’t taught in the schools although it’s very important to know who were the people in the past who have worked to better South El Paso. These historic figures who have made contributions to this area include Father Pinto and Father Rahm who worked tenaciously on behalf of the neighborhood, Mariano Azuela former barrio resident who wrote the first novel of the Mexican Revolution, Luis Jiménez, the artist who created the Alligator statue in Plaza San Jacinto and Juan Castañeda, known as Juan el Predicador, who preached for more than 40 years in the streets of the Segundo.
The artistic group wants to spread its art throughout other parts of the city as soon as it’s done with this project, said Mauricio Olague. St. Ignatius church is one of the contemplated sites for a future mural.
[Click here to see more mural photographs]
(Translation by Paso Del Sur Group.)
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