Murals Around the City

I’ve been keeping my eye out for murals and here are some I’ve seen.  Anyone know of anyother murals I’ve missed?

Cazadorez Restaurant on Texas Avenue on the East side of the building. Nice use of the existing window, and the deer just looks like he wants to be shot, doesn’t he? (Oh, Cazadores means “hunters” in Spanish). This would be a great target, so I’m assuming that the artist meant to make a point that this is a good place to hang out. deer come here and are at peace, so you can come here and eat.

Cazadorez Restaurant West. This side is a little more “artsy” with the large deer head on the horizon, but still keeps with the theme of hunting. I think that’s supposed to be a winding river. Honestly, I’d say the the ever watching buck god of many points is beckoning me to eat at this restaurant. Not sure if I was a hunter that I would see this mural and say something like, “i must eat here.” It’s actually a really good place to eat…they don’t serve venison.

Fritellas Restaurant. Made to look like a postcard. I like the swirlies in the Italy shape. My take on this is that this is an “authentication” mural. They are trying to tell me that this restaurant is a transplant direct from Italy. Truth is, the way they’ve decorated it looks like that’s what they are going for. Those purple flowers outside are called “plumbego” and they sure are pretty.

Jose’s Mexican Restaurant Part 1. This part is more like one of those spray paint fantasy looking paintings that you see people doing on the street in Austin. Not sure why that star is so bright, or if that’s the sun, and they disregarded the archway there. This mural is sort of a “This is our land” kind of thing. See the next picture where the musician is singing toward the expanse and mountain, not paying much attention to the girl next to him.

Jose’s Part 2. This part is cool. I like the disproportionate look of the head and hands. Therege’s a girl to the left in traditional Mexican clothing, but notice that the musician is not looking at her. He seems more smitten with the land than her. Maybe this is a nod to how proud they are of where they come from.

Los Molcahetes Part 1. Still in progress, but it looks nice. This is one of the funkier in town. Sort of a Picasso meets Matisse or something like that. I like it. The story of the fingers holding the cup is here. In this section, you can see a molcajete on the right. It’s traditionally a stone bowl made out of volcanic rock where you smash and mix spices, salsa, guac, mole, anything. This holding up of the cup is a quirky little thing they do here, and Iwould assume they want people to ask about it. I’m actually really glad they included it into the mural. The mural has a “high art” kind of feel, but it’s offset by this humorous and mysterious finger cup thing.

Los Molcahetes Part 2. This is the other end of the mural. These are at Texas and Villa Maria. It’s a large mural, and it’s still not done, but it looks great. Here the woman is making tortillas. This seems to be an “authentication” mural as well. Handmade food. There is another painting inside by the same artists.

I think this one is on 26th or somewhere around there…in Bryan. It’s old, looks like it’s an attempt at Yosemite Sam, and it’s just funky. I like it. It’s obviously a detailing place, but with the gunslinger there, maybe they do it fast? Or they don’t take crap from anyone? I’m not sure about that part. The funny thing about it is, if they meant they do it fast, then drying them on the line is actually a slow way of drying. Also, the cliche “hung out to dry” comes to mind which actually means that they would abandon us when we needed them. I think I’m reading too much into this one.

Las Lomas Part 1. This one I almost missed. It’s kinda hidden under a patio. Truth is, I’ve never been here, if I had, I would have seen it. A “loma” is a hill or hilltop. I like the little scene here with a lake at nestled in the mountains, and see there are three waterfalls coming into the lake. This seems to me to speak of a fertility and that it’s a “healthy”and lush area.

Las Lomas part 2. This is next to the one above. Portrayed here is a suitor courting or wooing a girl. They’ve got some traditional Mexican colors on the blanket, the guy has his own horse, and he’s given her a flower. Iwonder if that white flower has significance. They are holding hands, so maybe they are soon to be married. It’s either that or he’s going off to war or to market.

So, there’s my take on a few murals in town. There are a few others I knw of, I’ll be collecting pictures of those and post them in the future. Any help would be appreciated, especially if they are hard to find. I’d be up for grafitti as well, but I haven’t seen much other than on trains passing through.

jorge