The murals of Ajijic Part 7: Calle Encarnación Rosas from Emiliano Zapata to 16 de Septiembre

 

Mural of a lovely lady. This image covers the garage door of a house on the corner of Calle Emiliano Zapata that formerly contained a beauty parlor. It may have originally been intended as an advertisement. The artist is a young man named Orlando Solano Alvarez, who started out with graffiti, but later turned to commissioned murals and other forms of art, including tattoos. His work has appeared previously in this series (see Part 5) and will be shown again in future parts. In this posting, I will show some of the art works that appear along Calle Encarnación Rosas between Calles Emiliano Zapata and 16 de Septiembre.

This tile mural is on the corner of Encarnación Rosas and Calle Constitution. A painted ceramic vase is filled with calla lilies and what may be marigolds. Both kinds of flowers have deep symbolic meanings in Mexcio. Calla lillies are perennials that blossom around Easter and are therefore associated with death, rebirth, and new beginnings. Marigolds are closely associated with death, particularly during the fiesta called Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Marigolds are placed along paths leading to family altars for deceased family members. The fragrance guides them on their long journey home for a visit.

Surrounding the pot of flowers is a border of painted tiles in a style called Talavera. Such tiles have a long history in Mexico. In the 16th century, craftsmen of the Spanish town of Talavera had become famous for their beautiful tile work. In 1571, Spanish friars began  construction on Convento de Santo Domingo in the recently founded city of Puebla (east of Mexico City). The friars wanted to decorate the Convento's church with painted tiles, so they recruited craftsmen from Talavera to come and teach the indigenous people how to make them. Puebla has been producing Talavera tiles ever since. 

Three children of different ethnicities joyfully clutch at butterflies. This is the first of nine murals arranged in a side-by-side series along Encarnación Rosas where it intersects with 16 de Septiembre. They are painted on a line of plywood barriers that was put up to mask construction work on a new condominium called Lago Lindo. Covering the barriers with beautiful murals was the idea of Linda Jeschofnig, the developer. Once the condo project is completed, the panels will be sold to help fund local art programs for children. 

The murals were created by art teachers and their students as well as professional artists. The panel above was painted by David Balan. He was born in Antiqua, Guatemala and graduated with a degree in business administration from a university in that country. However, he chose to follow his passion for art, which combines technical mastery with story-telling. David Balan relocated to Chapala in 2024 and has been participating in the Lakeside art community ever since.

A colorful alebrije peers over its shoulder at its fluffy tail.  Alebrijes are fantastical creatures that have become a very popular form of Mexican folk art. The muralist is a professional artist named Jane Slaton whose art career has spanned 40+ years. She is responsible for a number of Ajijic's murals. She is very active in the Lakeside art scene, and volunteers at a local art program for children. 

Collaborating with her on the mural were a teacher from the art program and two of the students. Eréndira Elizabeth Diaz Castillón not only teaches art but is an art therapist. She enlisted two of her students to help. Quetzalli Aragón Castellanos is twelve years old and has already begun exhibiting her work and winning awards. The other student, seventeen-year-old Renata Lopez Valencia, specializes in water colors and mixed media. Slaton and her group also created another mural in the Lago Linda series.

A huge peacock peers out from the next mural. Karol del Toro is the signature on the work, but she is identified elsewhere as Viviana Carolina del Toro Pullido. She also painted another bird, a toucan, which appears later in this posting. Karol del Toro's career spans more than thirty years, starting when she was only ten years old. Specializing in painting, drawing, and portraiture, she has represented Mexico in an international art event in Colombia. She is also a make-up artist who does professional work for regional artistic performances. 

The image presented here represents the unity of humanity and nature. The artists Mario Ramirez and Itzel Montion collaborated on this mural, as well as a later one in this posting. Mario Ramirez was raised in the agave fields of Tequila and his work often focuses on local folk traditions, including Ajijic's fiestas (see Part 1). Itzel Montión is a painter and sculptor who was born in Itzlahuacan de Membrillos and graduated from the Universidad de Guadalajara. She has exhibited her work all over Mexico. 

Another alebrije created by Jane Slaton's group. A multi-colored creature resembling a fox peers over its shoulder at a fluttering butterfly. The fox is surrounded by "birds of paradise" flowers. Alebrijes were the product of hallucinations experienced by the artist Pedro Linares when he became severely ill in 1936 in Mexico City. His fever produced dreams of imaginary beasts that were vividly colorful. The creatures screamed the nonsense word "alebrije!" (al-ay-bree-hay!) at him. After his recovery, he began to recreate his dream creatures in paper maché and decided to name them after their strange cry.

The famous artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo discovered his work and commissioned more of it, catapulting Linares to national fame. The alebrije concept was picked up by artists in Oaxaca, some of whom began to fashion the creatures in carved wood. The Zapotec people of Oaxaca believe in spirit animals called tonas and nahuales. Soon,  alebrijes began to appear in those forms. Today, alebrijes have become wildly popular and craftspeople all over Mexico create them.

Back-to-back images of Tlaloc, the Rain God, form the center of the mural series. Tlaloc can be identified by his goggle eyes and the fangs that droop down from his mouth. He was one of the most important of the pre-hispanic deities, especially following the appearance of agriculture about 10,000 years ago. The designs on either side of the Tlaloc faces mimic a style common in Aztec art. Swoxe Perez, whose full name is Bernardo Raul Pérez Alcala, was born in Chapala. Educated at the Universidad de Guadalajara, he specializes in the fusion of art forms. More of his murals will appear in future postings.

The bird appearing in the next mural was painted by Karol del Toro. She painted the peacock seen previously in this posting. The bird is a toucan, a Neotropical avian in the family Ramphastidae. They are known for their large, brightly-colored bills, which are sometimes used to fence with rival toucans in struggles for dominance.

Hands with various skin hues caress a human heart. This is another collaboration by Mario Ramirez and Itzel Montión Notice the nopal cactus on the left, with red tunas along the edges. This variety of cactus is edible, nutritious, and was harvested in the wild by pre-hispanic people as an important part of their diet. It is still widely consumed in Mexico and can be purchased at street markets.

After the sharp needle-like spines are scraped off, the green nopal "paddles" can be sliced up and eaten raw, or cooked in a variety of ways. The tunas are harvested as a tasty fruit. Notice also the small hummingbird on the right. At least five different species can be found in Ajijic. Pre-hispanic people believed that hummingbirds were divine messengers, symbols of the sun, and reincarnations of fallen warriors.

David Balan painted the final mural. It is similar, but not identical, to the first mural in this posting. When I studied the two murals, I noticed that the curves of the trees form the two ends of a parenthesis. They create a beginning and end to the mural series. Each of the children in the two murals is of a different race or ethnicity. The children of the murals seem to be sending a message with their hands, but I am not certain of its meaning.  For the full story about how this amazing mural project came together, along with more about the artists, check out this video.

This completes Part 7 of my series on Ajijic's murals. I hope you have enjoyed it. 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 fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim

Murals of Ajijic Part 6: From Calle 16 de Septiembre to the Lake

Mural showing some of the Mexicans and expats who have made Ajijic what it is. Its location is on the side of La Spezia restaurant at the southeast corner of Calle Colon and Calle 16 de Septiembre. I decided to show this complex work in three sections. The section above is in the center, including the Ajijic Plaza's quiosco ("bandstand") and an image of Nuestra Señora del Rosario ("Our Lady of the Rosary"). There are also images of of local expats and Mexicans, an array of their pets, and some historical figures.

This posting will focus on the murals along Colon from 16 de Septiembre to the muelle (pier) that juts out into Lake Chapala. Many of these murals display scenes of everyday life in Ajijic. Another major theme is Lake Chapala, which is so important to the people who live along its shores. The two photos that follow contain more of the mural's images.

Diego Rivera, his wife Frida Kahlo, and a Catrina occupy the left section. This scene is clearly a reference to one of Diego Rivera's most famous murals: "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park".  Rivera, Kahlo, and a Catrina also appear in that work, along with a host of other figures, including some that are historical. Above, Frida Kahlo holds a disk with the sign of the Tao, just as she does in Rivera's famous mural.

This section of the Ajijic mural also contains images of expats who lived in the pueblo when it was painted. Along with some of their cats and dogs are the names of some of the organizations that sponsored the mural. These include the Lake Chapala Shrine Club and the Ajijic Book Club.

Pedro Loco and his white burro are prominently pictured on the right section. He was a local character who passed away several years ago. I was fortunate to meet him several years before he died. Pedro Loco ("Crazy Peter") had been a criminal lawyer in Canada. He gave all that up for a colorful but rustic life in Mexico. Pedro was a sight to behold as he and his burro slowly ambled down our cobblestone streets. He always wore huge sombreros adorned with feathers, flowers, and ribbons and often carried a large Mexican flag. One of Ajijic's classic oddball characters, Pedro was beloved by Mexicans and expats alike. 

The overall mural contains many more people. Just behind Pedro's sombrero are Jerry and Lori Brown, dear friends of ours. Jerry retired from running a small landscaping business in Hawaii. Now, he produces a Youtube series about their adventures entitled "Jerry Brown Travels".  Lori is a sweetheart and a wonderful cook. She is always cheerful and upbeat, even though she is a Cambodian refugee who published a book entitled "Don't Lose Hope: My Escape From The Killing Fields Of Cambodia." A truly remarkable couple. 

Mural showing La Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary is a local landmark that can be found on the northwest corner of the Ajijic Plaza. The current chapel dates back to the 18th century. However, an adobe-and-thatch chapel was constructed in the same location in 1531. Franciscan evangelists built it shortly after they arrived following the fall of the Aztec Empire. This painting appears on the wall of La Flor de la Laguna ("The Flower of the Lake"), which is located across Colon from the mural shown in the previous three photos. There is no artist's signature or date. 

Scenes of daily life in the pueblo of Ajijic. This mural can be found on the wall of Ajijic Tango restaurant. The mural shows women selling baskets and clay pots while a man across the street reaches into his ice cream cart to produce a treat for a child. The church in the background is modeled on the Parroquia de San Andrés near Ajijic Plaza. The muralist is José Duran, an artist and jeweler who sells his work at a stand in the Artists' Alley which leads from Calle Castellanos to the Plaza. He painted several other Ajijic murals, including the one of a band of roosters playing mariachi music (Part 3).

An eerie group of faces decorates the wall next to a store entrance. It feels like a vision drifting through a nightmare. This mural can be found across the street from the one painted by José Duran. It is located just to the right of the stairs leading to the entrance of a store selling broad-brimmed hats and other clothing. I could find no artist's signature or date.  

More murals are on the wall to the left of Ajijic Tango's entrance. Along the top are scenes of the birds found along the shore of the Lake. These include White Pelicans and Great White Egrets. The lower half of the wall contains a long sculptural mural of fish, manatees, and vegetation under the Lake's surface. The top half was painted by Javier Zaragoza in 2016. I am unclear about the creator of the sculptural mural, but it may have also been done by Zaragoza. A similar sculptural mural surrounds the base of the quiosco in the Ajijic Plaza. The next two photos show details from the top and bottom murals. 

A Great White Egret stretches out its long neck as it looks for prey. These birds can often be sighted along the shore of Lake Chapala. They often fish alongside their cousins, the Snowy Egrets, who are smaller and shorter-necked. Great White Egrets (Ardea alba) are members of the heron family. They can be found in Asia, Africa, and Europe as well as the Americas. Great Whites stand up to 1m (3ft 3in) tall and weigh an average of 1000 gr (35oz). Their wingspan is 131-170 cm (52-67 inches). This enables them to glide along the shore as they hunt for small fish, reptiles, and amphibians.

A female manatee cradles her baby. Lake Chapala briefly had a small population of manatees. They were released into the Lake as a means to control the invasive lirio ("water hyacinth") that has long plagued Lake Chapala. It was thought that these herbivorous animals would quickly devour the lirio, but the experiment failed. According to the story, three manatees were released into the Lake, but one became entangled in a fishing net and drowned. Another was killed by a fisherman who feared he was being attacked. The third was shot to death. The lirio, on the other hand, has continued to survive and thrive.

Manatees were thought to be mermaids when sailors first caught sight of them in earlier times. That is why the three known species of manatees fall within the order Sirenia. They are solitary animals, except when a mother is raising her young or when a male is pursuing a female. Manatees can grow quite large, with some attaining a length of 4m (13ft) and weighing as much as 590 kg (1,300 lbs). Despite their size, they are gentle beasts who graze on underwater plants and pose no threat to humans. In fact, the greatest threat to manatees are humans. 

A huge mural covers the north end of a restaurant on the lakeshore pier. The title of the mural is "Gaucho y Catrina". The green-skinned gaucho (Argentine cowboy) moodily sips a drink through a straw. The rose-crowned catrina gives a toothy grin, but her intense stare is a bit unnerving. One of Lake Chapala's vivid sunsets forms the background. The artist, Kahuil Vega, moved to the Puerto Vallarta area after he completed this mural.  Barrio de Quilmes (known locally as "Q"), on which the mural is painted, is an up-scale Argentine restaurant/bar that runs the length of the pier at the south end of Calle Colon.

This completes Part 6 of my Ajijic murals series. I hope you have enjoyed it. 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 fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim