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.

Dia de los Muertos on the UA Mall

I saw a video on Instagram of this very temporary mural being made, so I drove over near sunrise the next day (October 21st). Because it was on the ground, it was hard to get a photo that showed the whole thing. This is the best I could do:

Luckily, mural photographer extraordinaire BG Boyd got last-minute permission to fly his drone overhead the next day, just after sunrise:

Thanks as always, BG!

Update (October 27, 2021): BG Boyd sent information about this style of floral mural (below). I found examples by searching online for Alfombristas Mexicanos (click there to run a search with DuckDuckGo, which is much more private than Google). The page alfombristasmexicanos.org has lots of photos. Here's what BG sent:

Alfombrismo (flower art carpet) is a collective cultural expression of ephemeral art originating in the community of Huamantla, Tlaxcala, Mexico. This art expression arises from the pre-Hispanic worldview of offering to nature and the close relationship with the Matlalcuéyetl mountain from whom the community obtains resources to survive. After the process of miscegenation, veneration and gratitude are directed to the Christian divinity that they identify with the benefits of the Matlalcuéyetl as The Virgin Mary who assumes the generosity of nature and mercy for those who need it most, for which she is named Virgin of Charity.

Alfombristas Mexicanos (Mexican Carpet Makers) is a civil and collective group based on the carpets of Huamantla. This group develops cultural projects, to develop collective spaces as possibilities of coexistence, exchange, appreciation, and imagination.

Alfombristas Mexicanos develops carpeting projects as an inclusive cultural expression in which diverse individuals can contribute and be integrated from the creative process to the artistic culmination of the work. This artistic expression is a current dynamic in a constant transformation and innovation that adapts the form and resources from a local community which is giving time, materials and contributes to a visible purpose to a transcendental expression.

Avenidas de los Muertos celebration and Spy vs. Spy

A mural along 4th Avenue in South Tucson advertises a celebration (just before Dia de los Muertos) and vaccine clinic:

The last photo above shows bits of another mural underneath it. We don't have photos of that.

If you've read MAD Magazine, you probably recognize these characters from the middle of the mural:

It's a cartoon pair of spies who are always trying to destroy each other. (I'm not sure what they have to do with a celebration in Tucson.) There's more info in the fandom.com article Spy vs. Spy. And here's a YouTube Spy vs Spy video:



I stopped by the mural yesterday morning, October 21.

Daily Wildcat article about mural feast at Hotel McCoy

The Daily Wildcat is a great newspaper produced by UA Journalism students. It's worth following (also, if you can, donating to keep the lights on and the presses rolling). The September 30 article Hotel McCoy: An art space and a place to stay, by Sohi Kang and Bellah Nelson, is a long and interesting read with plenty of photos.

This blog has lots of photos of the hotel's murals. You can see them all by searching for posts labeled "Hotel McCoy" (click there).

You could drive right past this

This mural is on a shed in front of Project Insight, on the south side of Fort Lowell. It's easy to miss:

For some reason, most mapping programs wouldn't show the location, but here it is in Bing Maps: 1038 E. Ft. Lowell. I rolled by (and made a U-turn!) on June 28, 2021.

See this mural & stop in

Next to the front door of & Gallery (pronounced “and gallery”) is this mural by @ahhdehleenart (click there to see her Instagram page):

(As always, you can click on the photo for a bigger view.) Here's her signature:

I walked by & snapped this on August 10th.

"Living" TUCSON AZ mural

On the north side of the parking lot for Antigone Books has been a book mural by Jessica Gonzales. There's a new mural slowly taking shape on the west side of the lot — which is actually on another business:

It's a “living” mural, like the first living mural a couple of blocks away: It's divided into small spaces, each of which can hold a little mural painted by an artist. Here's the whole mural closer up:

Next, the parts of the mural people can paint, from left (south) to right (north):

I took these photos on August 10th. More of the spaces are probably filled in by now.

Update: You can follow this mural, as well as the other one, on Instagram @TheLivingMural. The coordinator, Jason Lee Nolan, calls this “the stained glass wall.” For example, here's a call to artists on August 23, 2021.

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.

Stewart Boot Company

Danny Martin is painting lots of murals! (You can see more by clicking on his name next to “Labels:” at the end of this post, and even more on his Instagram @dannymartinart_ [with an underscore _ on the end].) Here's one on a side street in the city of South Tucson:

I took the photos on July 23rd.

St. Luke's Home

In May of 2018 I took photos of two murals on an L-shaped wall at the rear of an assisted living facility named St. Luke's Home.  I recently discovered that these photos never made it to The Tucson Murals Project.  I drove by St. Luke's on Aug. 18, 2021 to confirm that the mural still exists.  While the street address is 615 E. Adams St., the murals can only be seen from E. Lee St.

Here are the two photos (better late than never):

 

 

Click on either photo for larger and sharper images.

Mobile monster mural

As our definition of “murals” goes, they don't have to be on a wall. Some of you probably don't agree, and that's okay. :) Here's one — or two — on a truck:

I found this munching monster in South Tucson on June 30th.

"Red Fuji"

The mural is inspired by "Red Fuji", a print by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.  Found on the south wall of the parking lot for Yume Japanese Gardens.

By Eric Carr and volunteers.

 

Click on photo for a larger and sharper image.

Las Puertas Community School

In 2010, we posted a photo of a mural from the corner of 37th Street and 8th Avenue, in the city of South Tucson, in Yes to murals! — when the building was owned by Tucson Urban League. At some time in the 11 years since, the building became a school. The school has murals on the walls along 37th Street, from west to east, then along 7th Avenue from south to north. There's also a mural inside the wall, around the playground. Here's a view, looking northwest, from the corner across the street:

(As always, you can click for a larger view.) Next, the mural from the far west edge (hidden from the photo above), then along the south wall from west (left) to east (right), then along the east wall from south (left) to north (right):

And the playground (photographed over the wall that runs along 7th Avenue):

I was there June 30th.

Nosotros Academy

This first mural honors Frank Romero and his wife, Lupita.  Frank created Nosotros Academy.

The subsequent two murals portray activities at the Academy.

By Alejandra Trujillo

Artist Not Known

By Alonso Delgadillo from Tijuana

 Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Paste-up mural at Mr. Codd's garden

I saw a carousel (set of photos), by @JasmineAndCreosote on Instagram, of a mural in "Mr. Codd's garden." It was made of cut fabric stuck to the wall with wheat paste. The Instagram post is below. You can see the five photos by clicking the arrow in a circle at the right edge of each photo:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sprout (@jasmineandcreosote)

With all of the rain we've had, I'm guessing that the mural is long gone. The Instagram post didn't give the address. I tried to message the Instagram user for more info but haven't heard back yet.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson

The elements of this mural resulted from conversations with the kids:  "What they love most about the organization, things they enjoyed doing and what imagery represents Tucson.....".

The mural was painted by Pen Macias, also known as The Desert Pen.

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Animals on the roof

Joe Pagac paints a lot of animals, but not (so far?) musical animals:

Thanks to BG Boyd Photo for that shot from a drone! The best I could do from ground level (from across 4th Avenue, with a zoom lens) — on August 10, 2021 — was this:

The mural, above the roof of Del Sol International Shops along 4th Avenue, is actually on the south wall of the new Union on 6th apartment complex. I took the photo on August 10, 2021.

From BG Boyd Photo, here's a wider view, plus a closeup of the signature at the bottom left corner (which I got with a photo editor from his first photo):

El Pais Motel

This is not your typical motel. The entrance is lined with pink flamingoes and a lyric from the B-52s. Inside are rooms with whimsical names, each with its own mural; vintage trailers; and even a swimming pool with a mural on the bottom. El Pais supports artists in any way they can, and artists have obviously gone all-out to paint great murals.

This mural, on a wall facing Benson Highway, was the first one painted here. The artist was Alejandra Trujillo (@atrujillo_art on Instagram):

At the entrance, from the B-52s (created by Gabrielle Ames):

Not far from the entrance on the left is the clubhouse. Here's what's outside, painted by Jessi (on Instagram @arterosas_, with an underscore at the end):

On the far side of the clubhouse is a covered seating area with a mural by Lyn Sweet (her Instagram has changed to @lynthesweet):

To go along with the vintage trailers — and the spaceship in the mural above — is one of the first electric cars. Randy L. Barton (@randy_boogie on Instagram) painted it:

Randy posted photos of the unpainted and painted car, as well as two videos of it being painted, on his Instagram. (Click there to see it. To see all, drag or use the arrows at right and left edges.)

Many of the guestrooms have their own name and a mural to go with it. From the front of the motel to the back, the first room with a name and mural is “Musician,” painted by Alejandra Trujillo:

Next, the “Comic Book room,” another by Alejandra Trujillo:

The Streamline Moderne room (after the art-deco style Streamline Moderne) has its mural by David Suggs (@suggscess on Instagram):

The “Casita de Khalo” is named for Mexican artist/icon Frida Kahlo. It's by Gabrielle Ames:

At the far end of the building with guestrooms is another mural by David Suggs:

The property was closed during August, so there was no need to keep the pool clean (from all of the dust blown in by the monsoon). The dust made it tough to photograph the mural on the bottom, painted by Gabrielle Ames… but there are (currently, at least) photos on the murals page of her website. The wall behind the pool has another of Gabrielle's murals, though… and yes, that's a mannequin in front:

The pool safety sign actually came from the previous owners, but it fit right in:

The motel's website elpaismotel.com has some fun photos, and the Arizona Daily Star article Mom-daughter team transforming Tucson trailer park into vintage gem has more info and photos.

The motel is private property with paying guests, so the owners ask that you not look around on your own. You can contact them for a tour, though. My tour was on August 2nd.