Good, Bad, and the Greedy

Location: Brazos and Laredo

Mural Dimension: 100’ X 20’

Lead Artist / Mural Crew: Adrian Fernandez, Alex Fernandez, Catherine Fernandez, Louis Tijerina, Leo Tijerina

Mural Facilitator: Estevan Arredondo

Blessing and dedication date: August, 23 2002 

Hard Core Mural Crew Member, Catherine Fernandez, working on the mural.

Description of mural: This 100' X 20' mural tackled timely issues of political corruption, economic racism, environmental racism and corporate greed and the effect those societal ills have on working class communities here in our city and throughout the world. The mural crew did extensive research for this 1 1/2 year project. The crew studied German expressionist art muralists Diego Rivera and Siqueros, the book Animal Farm, Pink Floyd's The Wall, convened neighborhood discussion and dialogue sessions regarding the mural imagery and conducted extensive community surveys before developing the final mural sketch.

Hard Core Mural Crew Memeber, Leo Tijerina, takes a break from mural painting.

This mural is the Heavy Metal crew's second mural with San Anto Mural Program. Their first mural is located right next to their current project and is entitled Heavy Metal. That mural was completed in September of 2000 and is also 100' X 20'. The 2-mural project took over 3 years to complete and has a final dimension of over 250' X 20'.

The Heavy Metal Crew hard at work.

The Heavy Metal Crew get ready to break down the scaffolding.

The Heavy Metal crew is communicating their ideas through the use of this mural art project. The issues being addressed by the Metal crew in this mural is corruption and greed in our government and the misery that the common citizen will go through if we do not practice our freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The mural exhibits that dollars and profits have become more important than the well being of the hard working lower and middle class citizen.

San Anto Mural Program Coordinator (circa, 2002), Alex Rubio, and Catherine.

The symbols used in the mural are puppet strings, pigs, a donkey, an elephant, money, hostility, war and greed. The giant hands represent the Puppet Master. The pigs, represent the greed of the corporate officials. The elephant and the donkey represent the political parties. A highly positioned political representative (the morphed donkey/elephant) hordes cash, representative of greedy kings from past nations. An elephant and a donkey fight over a dollar bill that is being used as bait by a pig. The background is a scene of despair and pollution. To the right of the mural, the working class do what they do best: work hard for the betterment of their families and community.

Metal!

Express yourself! It's the American thing to do. - The Heavy Metal Crew, August 2002

Leo and Lead Designer, Adrian Fernandez, take a break.

Mother of crew members, Adrian and Alex, join in on the mural painting process.

Where's the paint?.

The Heavy Metal crew addresses the crowd at the mural blessing and dedication.

Mural Crew Member, Louis Fernandez, interviews Grandma at the blessing ceremony.

Isaac Cardenas blesses the mural. Manuel Castillo and Alex Rubio wait patiently.

Fernando Flores and family gather in front of his poem, The American Dream. Fernando has written several poems for San Anto murals.

Mural Crew Member, Catherine Fernandez, thanks the crowd at the blessing.

The happy Fernandez Family.