Murals being made, part 78: Raspados y Mas (y mas)

Here's a building next to the corner of 6th Avenue & 36th Street that advertises raspados (shaved ice topped with fruit and syrup) and more. I've actually never seen this small building open, but it's worth a visit because it's covered with murals. Although the building doesn't have an address number on it, Google Maps says the name is Raspados y Mas and its address is 2616 S. 6th Avenue. Across the parking lot, at 2618 S. 6th Avenue, is Taqueria Pico de Gallo (which we saw in the previous post, Tacos and more (and more)). To make things simple, let's say the buildings are both near the southwest corner of 6th Avenue and 36th Street.

The previous post showed the south side of the parking lot: the side of the taqueria and the fence just behind it. In this post, we'll see the Raspados y Mas building as well as another mural on the fence at the back (northwest corner) of the parking lot.

Enough directions! Let's go.

March, 2023

BG Boyd took the next three photos of a mural in progress along the back (northwest corner) of the parking lot:

The murals above are by Alejandra Trujillo, from TucsonAZMurals.com/murals/taqueria_pico_de_gallo. (Thanks, BG.)

June 6, 2023

Driving down 6th Avenue before Pico de Gallo opened, I noticed it was under construction (as I showed in the previous post). The parking lot only had three or four cars, so I snapped an overall photo of the back wall and Raspados y Mas:

Walking closer to the mural in the back, I saw that it wasn't quite finished. For instance, some faces were blank:

At the northeast corner of the parking lot, the raspados building was being painted top-to-bottom. Below are the south side, a couple of closeups of the south side, and the east side. Watch for the white outlines of things to be painted:

David Aber's photos, October 2023

David Aber took the two photos below on October 14, 2023. They show the previous building at the northeast side of the parking lot:

By Wagon Burner Arts

By Wagon Burner Arts

December 16, 2023

The back wall had all of the faces. I decided that Alejandra had finished it:

Here are closeups from left (south) to right (north). Look for some dates — including Feb. 1990 with a picture of a cafe at the bottom middle, which I'm guessing is when Pico de Gallo opened:

I took more photos of the Raspados y Mas building's south side. From left (west) to right (east):

The murals on the south and east walls were signed “Wagon Burner Arts”.

Many more murals nearby…

While I was there on December 16, 2023, I spotted lots of murals just west of this area. For instance, one long wall has 26 murals: one for each letter of the alphabet. They should go online during the week of April 1, 2024.

Tacos and more (and more)

Although this restaurant on 6th Avenue is called Taqueria Pico de Gallo, it has more than tacos. It also has murals lining its parking lot — which it shares with Raspados y Mas. We've seen murals on September 23, 2011, in the post Come on in to Pico de Gallo and November 13, 2012, in Pico de Gallo reinvented.

Twelve years later — June 6, 2023 — I drove by and noticed that the part of their building next to 6th Avenue was under construction. Whatever they were doing meant the wall needed re-doing:

Google Maps Street View showed that the gray wall had been repainted yellow by September 2023. But the sign still hadn't been fixed when I stopped by on December 16, 2023 (see the left edge):

I also walked past the building and noticed a sweet mural toward the back, on the west end of the fence. It was signed “Wagon Burner Arts”:

Next time, we'll look at the murals across the parking lot.

Las Dos CoMadres

Las Dos CoMadres is a thrift shop:

Wagon Burner Arts painted the sign and address. WBA's logo is at the bottom of the sign:

I stopped by on April 3, 2021.

Another painted intersection in South Tucson

There are several painted intersections in the city of South Tucson. Two are along 8th Avenue: at 25th Street and at 36th Street. Now there's another one — although it's fading quickly, so see it while you can!

Our last post, "Mask Up! Vax Up!", showed a mural at the corner of 4th Avenue and 28th Street in South Tucson. Before the mural was painted, the intersection had been painted; there was a celebration that day.

A video from KGUN9 TV on February 24th, New project in City of South Tucson combines art with street safety, introduced the intersection project. Avenidas Inc. (on Instagram, @avenidasinc) posted the video below on February 21st. Drone photographer Ernesto Somoza (his Instagram account, @easomoza, is private) made the video. If you look at the top edge of the video, you can see the mural being painted. Below the video is the caption that Avenidas Inc. added when they posted it:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jerry Peek (@tucson.art) by permission from @avenidasinc

Every third Sunday, we, @avenidasinc host a Community Re:Investment Day! These days are all about giving back and showing our love for South 4th Avenue; to our local causes and businesses through monetary giving, volunteering and socializing.

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Yesterday, our focus was on public art and COVID-19 awareness, information and resources. We hope these murals will serve as a space for gathering, reflection, healing and an accessible way to experience local art and community. We appreciate everyone who spent time with us, painted, collaborated and sent positive energy. Keep sharing and posting with others. Thank you.

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Crosswalks: Sal Sawaki, from Wagon Burner Arts / Funded by Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona

@wagon_burner_arts
@artsfoundtucson

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@atrujillo_art
@droopydave
@luckysalway
@saguaro_fruit
@yiselaart

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Mural (on wall): Mel Dominguez, from Galeria Mitotera / Funded by Sunnyside Foundation

@melodominguez
@galeriamitotera
@sunnyside.foundation

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@roguetucsonart
@emgk77
@patoaguilarart

Footage by: @easomoza

There's lots of painted pavement around the US by now. Here's an example: the City-County building in Denver, across from Civic Center Park:

(What makes the paint last, I think, is painting streets where vehicles don't go.)

OWL

This mural was found at 502 N. Igo Way on the SE wall seen from N. Gollob Rd.

By Wagon Burner Arts

Click for a larger image.

Learning Bee is buzzing (sorry :)

The corner of 22nd & Longfellow has two long walls that've had murals for years. You can see some of the older murals in our posts on March 06, 2011 and August 08, 2016. On November 11, 2021, I stopped by to photograph a new mural along 22nd Street where there the wall had been mostly blank for years. The new mural is yellow in the photo below; the other murals are to its right:

(As always, you can click for a larger view.)

Here's the mural along 22nd Street, then two closeups and the artists' signature:

La Nalgona has neighbors

In South Tucson is a group of restaurants like a shopping mall food court, American Eat Co. Across the street are three murals:

The first, at the left, for La Nalgona, has been there for a while; on July 20, 2021, we showed a closeup of it. Here's are the two new murals on the right:

And the two murals, one by one, with the artist signature on each:

I took the photos on October 21 — as I contemplated stuffing my face :) at the restaurants behind me.

Día de Los Muertos on Grant Road

The "Day of the Dead" is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. It is often celebrated on Nov. 1 to remember children who are deceased and Nov. 2 to honor the adults who have passed.

The artists are Monty Ses Esposito, Retro, Sketch 71/Rickey A Bush and Sal Sawaki; all working with Wagon Burner Arts.

Found at the SW intersection of N. Martin Ave. and E. Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ

La Calavera Catrina ("Elegant Skull") on the left next to "Sugar Skulls". Sugar Skulls are made of sugar and are placed on graves and altars in honor of deceased loved ones.
(Update: See the note farther below.)

La Calavera Catrina (the "Elegant Skull").  Also known as Mexico's Lady of the Dead.

 

Mariachis (a street band in Mexico)

La Calavera Catrinas
Note the dog and cat.

 

Update: KGUN9 TV interviewed muralist Monty Ses Esposito, one of four artists who painted the mural.

Update:  The Sugar Skulls panel — the right side of the second photo in this post — was replaced in Jan. of 2022. The “sugar skulls” were “chuckleheads” — the four artists who painted the mural. Left to right, they were: Ses, Sketch 71, Retro and Sal. Below is what replaced the panel:

Update: To give you an idea of how big the mural is, here's an aerial view from BG Boyd Photography (thanks!):

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger images.

Greetings from ARIZONA

I found this mural on Sept. 19 on the east wall of 5809 E. 22nd Street, CBD Super Store. The mural is actually for American Legion John P. Burns Post 36, which is on the other side of the parking lot (at 5845 East 22nd).

And yes, our Tucson sky is that blue.

Mural by Monty Ses Esposito, Sketch 71/Rickey A Bush, Sal Sawaki with Wagon Burner Arts

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Update (July 4, 2022): Monty Ses Esposito also painted a mural nearby.

La Esquina

The mural on the north wall of Taqueria La Esquina is based on the Mexican holiday "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead).

Artistry by Wagon Burner Arts

 

 

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

State Farm colors

The east side of Campbell between Grant and Glenn is a little mural art gallery. Besides the murals on Plaza Liquors and Blue Willow, Dan Kalm's State Farm insurance office has bright murals covering most of its north wall:

I hope that, after today's election, we can all find a way to get along together:

I was there June 17th.