I dubbed this figure "The Blue Lady". She is part of a larger mural, shown later in this posting. It covers a wall about 6 feet tall and 50 feet long on Calle Zaragoza. Just to the left of her face is the door to the house at #58. The artist is Orlando Solano Álvarez, whose work also appears in Part 5 of this series. In this posting, I will cover some of the most interesting murals along Zaragoza between Calle Castellanos and Calle 5 de Febrero.
Calle Castellanos to Calle Colon
A sunburst and various plants, flowers, and fruits line a a parking lot wall. The sunburst reminds me a bit of the "rising sun" emblem of the Japanese Empire during World War II. The wall extends west along Zaragoza from its corner with Castellanos. Another section extends south along Castellanos, where the signature of Juan Higuera appears. I could find no information about him on the internet and there is no date. If anyone knows this artist, please leave a comment.
This mural, and two more that follow, can be found along Zaragoza between Castellanos and Calle Juarez. Please be advised that, although I note the numbers of some of the houses that have murals, street numbers in Ajijic often appear in no particular order. This can make it a bit challenging to find a specific house. In Mexico, it is often more useful to look for landmarks than street numbers.
A flowering tree winds across the front of the house at #22 Zaragoza. The mural can be found a few doors west of the first photo on the same side of the street. A white bird. which resembles a Snowy egret, decorates the front door. These egrets can often be seen fishing along the shoreline of Lago de Chapala. I could find no artist signature or date.
This spectacular mural covers both stories of the house at #5 Zaragoza. It contains a wild mixture of people, flowers, and abstract designs. One little detail I liked was a silhouette of a young girl holding an umbrella over her head. She is protecting herself from a deluge of water flowing from a waterfall painted down the left side of the door. There was no signature or date.
Calle Juarez to Calle Aquiles Serdan
The murals on the house at #32 Zaragoza are truly surreal. There are several and I will show them from left to right in this and the next three photos. Above, a running man in bare feet and a spotted suit carries a large flowering plant on (growing out of?) his head. He seems to be waving at passersby with both hands. His expression and posture are those of a kid proudly proclaiming "look Ma, no hands!"
Between two windows is a large flower with a human face. In the upper left is a tile image of the Virgen de Guadalupe, the patron of Mexico and its poor and indigenous people. My best guess is that the tile image pre-dates the mural. The coloring and features of the flower-face in this and the previous photo suggest that the people they portray are indigenous.
A head with a halo supports a large object from which a flowering plant emerges. The flower-lined shoulders and raised arms frame the mural. While the two previous images show faces that are clearly human, this one is a bit different. Humanity is only suggested by the one-eyed silhouette. It could just a well represent an alien visitor or a robot.
The garage door on the far right of #32 contains the final image. A reclining figure turns to view a sun circled by stars. Surrounding the image are more leafy plants. All four of these playful mural images suggest an intimate connection between humans and the natural world.
Casa Flores, at #38, also has a long mural with multiple images. I will move from left to right across the front of the house to show the full set of images. The artist is Swoxe Perez, whose full name is Bernardo Raul Pérez Alcala. He was born in Chapala and educated at the Universidad de Guadalajara. His specialty is the fusion of art forms and his work also appears in Part 7.
The middle section of Casa Flores is covered with a wild profusion of plants. Casa Flores is one of several beautiful B&Bs located in Ajijic. The individual rooms are each decorated in a different artistic style and the common areas are full of fascinating objects of popular art.
The final panel on the right shows a serene view of the Lake in the evening. Although a bit pricey by Mexican standards, Casa Flores is comparable to the cost of a mid-range U.S. motel. It is located about 3 blocks from Ajijic's Plaza, making it convenient for visitors without a car. I have never stayed here, but the reviews on TripAdvisor are very good.
Calle Aquiles Serdan to Calle 5 de Febrero
A large bumble bee approaches an intricate design resembling a mandala. This mural is on the northwest corner of Zaragoza and Calle Aquiles Serdán. It would be easy to pass it by because it is partially concealed by a large overhanging tree. If I hadn't been on foot, I could have easily missed it. No artist's signature or date were visible.
A huge parrot stretches across the front door and garage of the house at #50. The mural is located on the south side of Zaragoza. The parrot's appearance is very realistic. Federico Luquin Guerra (who signed his work @Felugue ) is clearly familiar with birds. Sr. Luquin Guerra has 28 years of experience as an artist and has displayed his work at 25 individual and collective exhibitions. He has also created more than two dozen murals in Mexico and internationally. A painter and sculptor, he often uses stone and seashells in his creations. More of his work can be seen at his gallery at Carretera Poniente #117 B, Ajijic.
The "Blue Lady" seen in the first photo is part of a longer mural. As I noted in the first photo, Orlando Solano Álvarez (@orlandoantrax95) is the artist and his work has appeared several times in this series. To the right of the Blue Lady, a hand (hers?) reaches out toward the brightest of a galaxy to stars.
The west end of the mural contains another blue face, this time male. Another hand (his?) reaches back, pointing to the same bright star. This mural appears to echo ancient traditions in Mexico about the duality of the cosmos. Everything has its opposite--male and female, day and night, good and evil, etc. Nothing can be fully understood on its own, only as part of its duality.
This completes Part 11 of my series on Ajijic's wonderful murals. I hope you 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 be sure to include your email address so that I can respond in a timely fashionl
A flowering tree winds across the front of the house at #22 Zaragoza. The mural can be found a few doors west of the first photo on the same side of the street. A white bird. which resembles a Snowy egret, decorates the front door. These egrets can often be seen fishing along the shoreline of Lago de Chapala. I could find no artist signature or date.
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