Salvador Duran and El Tour de Tucson

At the end of October, 2023, Joe Pagac was replacing a well-known mural which had been in that spot for about six years. Below is a story of the new mural, photos of the old mural, and something surprising Joe did after he finished the new mural.

The original mural

First, the mural painted in 2017 by Diego Roa. It shows Tucson artist Salvador Duran:

Thanks to BG Boyd Photography and his mural database TucsonAZMurals.com for that photo (taken from https://tucsonazmurals.com/murals/salvador_duran.) It looks like someone may have painted something between Salvador's hands since the mural was created… an older closeup below doesn't have the blob.

You can see the mural in 2017, a photo of Salvador and a bit of his story, and more info, in the original post on this blog: Parking lot morphs into cracked earth.

The new mural is coming…

On October 31, 2023, Joe posted a photo to Facebook with his car in front of part of the new mural:



(If you can't see that, here's a link to the Facebook post.)

The new mural

I took these photos near sunrise on December 16, 2023:

Murals are usually replaced after some period of time. This one had been here six years. Still, I was a bit sad that the portrait of Salvador Duran was gone. So I was surprised and happy when I read on the Facebook group Tucson Murals and Street Art that Joe had painted the same portrait on the Toole Avenue side of Hotel Congress:

In case you'd like to see the original and Joe's re-creation side by side, here they are. As always, you can click on the (single) image below to see it and others much larger:

(The exposure on Joe's version — to the right — might not be correct. The bottom looks pretty dark to me.)

Neighborhood art on Vine Avenue (some hidden)

On November 12, 2023, I got mail from a homeowner in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, Micheal Hailey. There was a new mural, plus a small piece of art, painted by Ignacio Garcia. Micheal wrote:

The mural is on an exterior wall [of my home] and is visible to the public. Ignacio and I felt that anyone should be able to see it. My neighbors are supportive and you are welcome to come by any time to see it.

The mural is on the west side of Vine Avenue, north of the corner of Waverly Street. A rough street address for your GPS is 2001 N. Vine Ave. I stopped by on February 4th:

Just north of the mural is a small work of art that Ignacio installed toward the end of 2023:

Micheal wrote more about it later:

The scorpion was done by Ignacio. He placed that there a few months ago and has created many others that look just like that but with varying colors. It glows in the dark. It is his intention to hide them all over town.

I found a video on Ignacio's Facebook page showing him with a lot of his different scorpions:

Comida del Barrio una otra vez

We showed a photo of this unusual little building on December 1, 2023, in Comida del Barrio. We're back there one more time with some close-ups. But first, a photo on October 3, 2023 while XICANITA is painting (the artist's Instagram account is @ahhdehleenart):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by XICANITA (@ahhdehleenart)

(If you can't see that, try this link: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx85u8-yHkO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)

Next, photos I took on December 16, 2023:

Don't rush through Auto Wash Express

This place may be fast for washing your vehicle, but you might want to take your time looking at the detailed mural on the west side. (This is next door to the murals at My Little Angels (on St. Marys). You could spend more time smiling at all the cartoon characters there.)

I took the photos on December 16, 2023. The mural is by XICANITA (Adelynn Olea). Here's an in-progress photo on November 4, 2023 from the artist's Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by XICANITA (@ahhdehleenart)

If you can't see that, here's a direct link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzPeKCBvXFE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==.

Desert UFOs

A long wall divided by a driveway.

There is no artist's signature.  However, the artistry resembles other murals by Danny Martin.

Click on either photo for larger images.

03/16/2024 - Artist confirmed as Danny Martin.  Mural appears on his Instagram.

Maviri Vibe Vortex

This long mural covers the entire east side of the office of Darin Guthrie CPA, LLC:

Darin sent email about the mural:

When I purchased the building on March 31, 2022, I knew that the wall was perfect for a mural. Having worked with Felix Lawrence in the past on another art project, and knowing that he was involved in the local mural scene, I asked him if he would be interested in putting his talents on display on my wall. After discussing a few options, we agreed on the mural you now see, which, as I understand it, is based on an aerial photo of the wind patterns reflected in sand dunes near Sinaloa, and was completed in June of 2022.

I have received numerous comments from friends and clients about the mural, many of whom mistakenly assumed it is based on an animal pattern, such as a tiger or leopard. It gives me pleasure to share that, no, it is not an animal print, but a geographic study. I have always felt that art should be a bit on the ambiguous side, so viewers can project some of themselves into it and question if they truly understand the intent, and Felix has achieved that! I have no plans to replace the mural, although someday I may do so if the right artist and idea comes along.

There's an aging small sign at the right edge:

The two QR codes wouldn't scan with my phone. I got in touch with the artist, Felix Lawrence. It turns out that the codes aren't about the mural. The first is a link to a story on KOLD TV News: City of Tucson removes mural on private property without consent; much of the story is an interview with Felix. The second opens a folder of files on Google Drive… I won't include it here. If you'd like the link, please send me a comment (with the “Contact us” form at the far right of this blog page) and I'll email it to you.

Mildred & Dildred

The mural is on the front (east) side of Mildred & Dildred toy store. The entire team at Turtle's Soup worked on it around the start of 2023; the mural concept/design itself came from one of their artists, Stefany Schumack. I took the photo December 17, 2023.

Update (September 7, 2024): The Arizona Daily Star published this story on their website tucson.com today: Local toy shop Mildred & Dildred has been thriving for nearly two decades.

Axis Food Mart

This wildcat mural is along Cherry Avenue, on the east wall of Axis Food Mart, at the southwest corner with Broadway. There's a photo of the mural on the artist's Instagram @muckrock. Also see the Jules Muck graffiti artist website, http://julesmuck.com. I took the photo on September 2, 2023.

Valentina

Valentina is a wildcat.

Found on the west end of the Twice As Nice clothing store.  The mural is followed by a close-up.

By Pato Aguilar

 Click for larger images.

Lohse Family YMCA

 Each mural "...highlights different aspects of YMCA offerings."

                                   Swimming and Basketball

By Joe Pagac

                                                Gardening

By Joe Pagac

                                           Horseback Riding

By Joe Pagac

 Click on any photo for larger images.

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.