Friday, August 04, 2017

The Wall Murals of Escuela Montes de Oca

It used to be frowned on.  Wall art or graffiti or murals, whichever name you wish to define it with.
But, the latest murals at the school near my house are beautifully executed by a man with spray cans!

It is hard to believe, but I have been mesmerized by his talent and his finished art - the wall murals of Escuela Montes de Oca.

He painted the first section in February of this year. Then he waited until the school raised more funds for him to finish the second section.  Here it is.  As you look at the photos, remind yourself that
this work was done with spray cans of paint!



The artist is Francisco "Nadie" Vega or Don Catrin.  His phone number is 415 100-3547 and his email address is franknadievega@hotmail.com   He speaks some English and is a very lovely person.

For a couple of days his little girl came with him and sat on the sidewalk with her chalk and paper drawing quietly.  I always am impressed how Mexican people bring their children with them to work and the children are so well behaved.  Truly amazing.

Nadie is waiting for the school to get the funds for him to redo the mural in the school on a big wall that in my many years here has been painted and redone twice, but never by anyone as talented as
this artist.

Nadie puts so much symbolism into his work and his attention to detail is awesome.  If you click on the photos, hopefully they will enlarge and you can see the detail.

Drive down Cuitlahuac in Col. Azteca some time to see this work in person.  Now if you look at Google Maps, they will have incorrectly named the street Cuahtemoc, but it is in fact, Cuitlahuac.
 Also on some old street maps of San Miguel the street is identified as San Marcos because the people in the white house at the corner named their house that at least 30 years ago, before there was much development up here.  Anyway, on one side of the street it says San Marcos, on the other Cuitlahuac at the corner!  It is typical of Mexico.............and makes me laugh often.


10 comments:

Peter Kouwenhoven said...

Very nice work! We have many pictures of San Miguel murals. Most are spectacular.

On another note, we are saddened to read on Rancho Santa Clara that Sheryl has passed away... We had some great laughs.
Hope your arm is healing nicely and that you are well and happy.

Cheers, Peter.

CPM said...

Barbara, I admire you positive attitude and that's the reason I love to read your blog almost daily. I also appreciate your love for Mexico and the Mexicans, you always put a good perspective in my country and I admire more my country thanks to your comments. A big hug, Carlos

Babs said...

Thanks Peter. Yes, it was so sad to lose Sheryl. Redge is back here and Sheryl's husband Don will be returning soon. My arm is healing, slowly but surely.

Stay safe there in Canada, ok?

Babs said...

Carlos, what a lovely message. I do LOVE Mexico and the people of Mexico. My love affair with your country began in 1974. I feel so honored to be able to live here
and be part of this country.

Thank you for your comments. Un gran abrazo.

Jeannie said...

You would love the street art in Buenos Aires. I went on a walking tour of one neighborhood where there were huge murals done by very talented artists from around the world. Yes, they mostly used spray paint and it was explained that the cans they used came with a variety of nozzles for different effects. Some used brushes and acrylic paint for backgrounds. The murals are found throughout the city in different neighborhoods and I walked almost every day to find some of the best. One of my favorites was a very tall one of Frida Kahlo in modern day apparel - it was quite stunning.

Retired Teacher said...

How nice that you have such lovely artwork gracing your neighborhood. And quite a coincidence that we both wrote about Mexican street art on the same day.

Babs said...

Thanks Jeannie for sharing your experience in Buenos Aires.....I have heard
it is a beautiful city.

Bill, indeed a coincidence. Safe travels.

Clete said...

There was a very interesting mural on one of the maleconcitos in Barra de navidad until a group of busybody volunteers decided to beautify the place. Why do these snowbird volunteer groups always screw things up? Of course their good deeds are always prominently displayed on social media.

Babs said...

Clete, I love Barra. I always stay somewhere within 15 or 20 minutes of it in January/and or February. It is a really quaint place.

Luckily here in SMA, since a group of muralists from all over the world came to one of our colonias, Guadalupe, and painted all kinds of magnificent murals, everyone loves them. There was a time when it was considered graffiti. Thanks for commenting.

Joanna van der Gracht de Rosado said...

Hi Barbara... Today I wrote a bit in my blg about one of your fair city's iconic painters.