Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – On June 16, Jalisco celebrated its first bicentennial as a free and sovereign state, and the Jalisco Ministry of Culture (SCJ) decided to commemorate the occasion with public art.
As part of the celebrations, four urban artists created four large-format murals, the result of the Traza Jalisco 2023 call, launched by the Directorate of Operation and Cultural Programming of the Jalisco Ministry of Culture under the motto “Jalisco: 200 years of culture, history and tradition.”
The murals are part of the work of the Government of Jalisco for the recovery of public spaces and are located at the entrance to the Luis Quintanar Park through Guadalajara, at Avenida Malecón 1006; and by the Tonalá entrance, at Avenida Patria Oriente 576.
They are ‘Spirit of Jalisco’ by Manuel Aceves Servín; ‘Garden of the Historical Jaliscienses’ by Vanessa Domínguez Concho; ‘The Sky of Jalisco’ by Ricardo de la Rosa Zayarzábal and ‘Our History is on the Table’ by Aurora Servín Camacho.
“It was a very short time, in 15 days, every day without stopping, these interventions were carried out,” said SCJ director of Operations and Cultural Programming, Ruth López Hernández. “For some of the artists, it was their first time making a mural of these dimensions, so I am very pleased that we are opening spaces for new talents and that their work is made known”.
In the mural ‘Spirit of Jalisco’, by Manuel Aceves Servín, the main character is Luis Quintanar, who was the founder and interim governor of Jalisco between 1822 and 1824. This soldier and politician is recognized for proclaiming the liberation of slaves in the State. Jaliscienses like Rita Pérez de Moreno, who fought for Independence, also appear on the mural, along with artists Gerardo Murillo “Dr Atl”, Gabriel Flores, Jorge González Camarena, and María Izquierdo. In addition, Lake Chapala, Agave covered hills, the sun, the architecture of Luis Barragán, and pre-Hispanic art pieces are depicted.
The ‘Jardín de las Jaliscienses Históricas’, the work of Vanessa Domínguez Concho, commemorates the prominent women in Jalisco, whose contribution in various disciplines paved the way for other women. They are:
- Soledad Anaya Solórzano, teacher and writer
- Amalia Guerra, writer and cultural journalist
- Paula Gómez Alonso, philosopher, popularizer of science and culture
- Antonia Urzúa López, the first Jalisco with a medical degree
- Consuelo Velázquez, composer; Carmen Castañeda, historian and professor
- Luz María Villarreal, scientist
- María Izquierdo, plastic artist
- Rita Pérez, militant of the insurgency during the Independence of Mexico
- Irene Robledo: educator and humanist from Jalisco
In ‘El Cielo de Jalisco’, by Ricardo de la Rosa Zayarzábal, some of the most representative elements of the state are shown on a large blue background, starting with jarabe from Guadalajara, the lions of the Jalisco coat of arms, tequila, charrería, mariachis and music, the cathedral of Guadalajara and the woven sky of Etzatlán.
And the fourth mural, “Our history is on the table” by Aurora Servín Camacho, is a composition of food since the artist, originally from the State of Mexico, assures that “if you want to know the history, culture and identity of a place you have to eat its typical food”. In her work she portrays clay dishes, jericalla, cantaritos, caballitos, la torta ahogada, carne en su jugo, birria, pozole, tejuino and tequila.
“I am originally from Toluca and after seven years of making murals in different states of the Republic, the first thing that happens when we arrive in the communities is that they welcome us and tell us to sit down at the table,” commented Servín Camacho.