Ajijic's colorful murals Part 2: Calle Castellanos

This mural accurately captures the image of a Green Iguana. It is located on Calle Castellanos, on the wall by the entrance to the Artists' Walk that leads into Ajijic Plaza. Just to the mural's right is the Ajijic T-Shirt shop. The artist is Bruno Mariscal, who has painted numerous murals around Ajijic. He is also the owner of the Ajijic T-Shirt shop. Green Iguanas (Iguana iguana) are common in southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as Central America. 

In Part 2 of my series on Ajijic's Murals, I will focus on those decorating the area of Calle Castellanos south of the Carretera (Ajijic's "main drag"). This street runs north-to-south from the base of the mountains down to the Lake and passes in front of Ajijic's main church called the Parroquia. The eleven different murals shown in Part 2 are wildly different in their styles and themes but all demonstrate the skill and creativity of Ajijic's many artists.

I nicknamed this mural "Celestial Woman". It extends across the front of Galeria Amigrante, one of Ajijic's many art galleries. According to the young woman who was running the gallery, the name is a combination of amigo and inmigrante. Galeria Amigrante is located on the east side of Castellanos across from the iguana mural seen in the first photo. The artist is Aldo Varela, who also painted one of the large murals along the Artists' Walk that leads into the Plaza. I will show that mural in a subsequent posting.

A group of hollow-eyed old vaqueros stares out from Galeria Amigrante's mural. This section of the mural is on the other side of the Galeria's doorway from the Celestial Woman. The skeleton figure on the left is actually part of her mural. The three old vaqueros (cowboys) are the work of Bruno Mariscal, who painted the colorful iguana in the first photo. I have often encountered guys like this (except for the skeleton) in my travels around Mexico. They often have wonderful stories to tell about the old days in Mexico. 

Fishermen raise their net to capture a school of fish near the lakeshore. This mural is located on the west side of Castellanos, just to the left of the entrance to the Artist's Walk. The artist is Jesus Lopez Vega, a prolific muralist whose work appears all over Ajijic. I encountered him several times while he was at work on this mural during September of 2025. I meant to photograph the mural as a work in progress, but never got around to it. According to Jesus, the mural was based on a photograph of four local fishermen named (left to right) Domingo Chavez, Amador Torres, Aristeo Grajeda, and Felipe Padilla.

El Muro de los Muertos is a wall of skulls along the side wall of a local school. Most murals I will show are paintings, but this one is sculptural. The artist is Efren González, many of whose murals you will see in this series. He drew his inspiration from the pre-hispanic tzompantli platforms on which the heads of sacrificial victims were once displayed. The individual skulls are made in molds from red clay. The wall of skulls is along the side of Escuela Primeria (Primary School) Marcos Castellanos. The school is located on the corner of Calles Parroquia and Castellanos. I wonder if it gives the kids nightmares.

Detail from El Mural de los Muertos. Each skull contains the first name of a deceased person who once lived in the pueblo of Ajijic. The last name can be found near the bottom of each skull plaque. Although most names are in Spanish, some belong to people from Ajijic's large foreign community. For example, the top left skull was created for Peter Simons. The four skulls along the top include candleholders for votive candles. As a result, these skulls are slightly blackened. In fact, each of the skull plaques contains a small hole below the lower jaw where a holder with a votive candle can be inserted.

Mural in the stairwell of Café Concepción. The Café is located on the  east side of Castellanos, just south of the Parroquia church and across the street from the skull wall. The young artist, Alan Pantoja, began painting the mural in 2025 and it is still a work in progress. He based it on "The Birth of Venus", a 15th century Renaissance painting by Sandro Botticelli. Alan works full-time at a local notario's office, but hopes to one day support himself with his art. He can be reached on Instagram at alanpantojap. 

A young family and their dog, out for a hike in the mountains. The subject of death is often treated humorously in Mexican art. As a hiker myself, I have seen young families just like this, hiking through flower-dotted meadows in the mountains overlooking Lake Chapala. However, I don't recall seeing any that were skeletons. Maybe I wasn't there on the right day? This and the following three photos are all part of the same large mural on the wall of El Camaléon, a bar located on the corner of Calles Constitución and Castellanos. The mural lacks a signature or date and I haven't yet been able to identify the artist. 

Skeletal camaléon browses among the flowers. Camaléones (chameleons) are not native to Mexico. However there are Mexican lizards that mimic the true chameleon's ability to change its coloration to match its surroundings. Just about every living creature has been portrayed as a skeleton in Mexican art. The city of Aguascalientes contains the unique Museo Nacional de la Muerte (National Museum of Death) where you can see many examples of this bizarrely humorous view of death, some of them dating back millennia.

A tipsy wolf staggers along, while a black dog gallops overhead. The wolf-man wears a yellow vest, bluejeans, and pointy-toed cowboy boots. A golden crown floats over his head. Could this be a regular customer of the bar? After all, the entrance is behind him, just around the corner. Makes sense, to me at least. As to the black dog, they are often featured in Mexican folk art. In pre-hispanic times such dogs were called Xoloitzcuintli.  They were thought to be spiritual guides and able to transition between the worlds of the living and the dead.

A cheerful-looking green camaléon announces the bar's name in a speech balloon. Below him a smiling bird wearing another gold crown spreads its wings. The bird is possibly a quetzal, found in the jungles of southern Mexico and Central America. Quetzals were highly prized in pre-hispanic times. Their long, beautiful feathers were used to make penachos (head dresses) for the nobility and rulers. One of the most important pre-hispanic gods was Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), who was portrayed as a snake adorned with quetzal feathers.

Even lamp posts can sometimes be adorned with murals. Above, you can see Monarch butterflies and calla lillies, two forms of life that are common motifs in Mexican art and culture. The Monarchs (mariposas in Spanish) conduct some of the longest migrations in the insect world. Millions of them nest and breed in the State of Michoacan, then die. Their offspring make their way all the way up to Canada, then migrate back to Michaocan to nest, breed and die in a repeating cycle. Calla lillies symbolize both purity and death. They are sometimes featured in the fiesta called the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Pre-hispanic themes abound in this mural. Everything is there, from pyramids, to the sun god, to a snarling jaguar (known as a tigre), to a woman wearing a penacho made with green quetzal feathers. The mural is located on the wall of a small private home on the southwest corner of Constitución and Castellanos. The house is diagonally across the street from the Bar de Camaléon. 

More mariposas and brilliant flowers. This mural is on Castellanos, sharing a corner with the Aztec-themed work. It is quite similar to the lamp post mural and was almost certainly done by the same artist. Although it adjoins the Aztec painting around the corner, the style is very different, so it was probably not painted by the same artist. This mural is unsigned and undated. If anyone can positively identify this muralist, or the painters of any of the other unsigned works, please leave that information in the Comments section below or email me directly.

A huge blue bird launches itself into the air. The house is located on the side of a small private home on the southeast corner of Castellanos and Constitución. The bird's species is uncertain, but it may be a Great Blue Heron. These can sometimes be observed standing in the shallows along Lake Chapala's shore. Notice how the artist has created the illusion of three-dimensionality by including the bird's shadow. The bird mural was created by a young man named Orlando Solano Álvarez, (@orlandoantrax95) who has painted a number of different murals around Ajijic.

Detail of the blue bird mural. At first, I didn't notice that the bird has two passengers. One clutches the reins, while his partner swivels about with a motion picture camera. The mural was created to advertise the Chapala Indie Film Festival. There have been three of these festivals, the most recent of which was held in November of 2025 at the Centro Cultural Chapala.

This completes Part 2 of my series on Ajijic's murals. There are many more murals in Ajijic than I will show in this series. I'm only attempting to give you a taste. I hope you have enjoyed the series so far. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please remember to include your email address so that I can respond in a timely manner.

Saludo, Jim