#10 - Leyendas Aztecas
|
Location: 1310 S. Brazos Dimensions: 82' x 20' Date: September 1998 Lead Artist: Israel "Izzy" Rico Assistant Artists: Krystal Gonzales, Udanna Gonzales |
This mural recounts four different Aztec legends: The Creation of the Race, the Legend of the Volcanoes, the Hierarchy of the Aztec Empire, and the Birth of Huitzilopochtli. The mural came from artist Israel Rico’s study of Mexican history. Rico, a proud Chicano and history buff, wanted to create a unique mural that would help Mexican-Americans connect with their Aztec roots. Painted by Rico, assistant youth artists Udanna and Krystal Gonzales, and a cohort of community volunteers, the mural follows the flat, angular style and bright colors of Aztec codices.
|
|
Content and Design
The mural features four different leyendas aztecas, Aztec legends. Artist Israel Rico designed the mural in the style of Mesoamerican codices. The far left shows the creation of the human race. Rico painted a summary of the story onto the mural:
“Quetzalcoatl (the Aztec god of life and wind) ventures down to the underworld of Mictlan. The bones of the 4th sun race break in his battle with Mictlantecuhtli (the Aztec god of death). Quetzalcoatl escapes, mingles his blood on the bones, and creates the (present) 5th sun race. The broken bones represent the people that came in different shapes.” |
The center of the mural represents the hierarchy of the Aztec empire, with the King on top, the priest to his bottom left, and the jaguar soldier to his bottom right. The King wears a feathered eagle headdress to represent his strength and leadership, the priest holds a small temple in his bird-like hands, and the warrior blows on a conch shell.
The right side of the mural depicts a scene from the life of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war. The scene shows Huitzilopochtli sitting on a mountain, towering over the bones of his enemies as he ignites them into a single enormous ball of flame. Again, Rico narrates the scene:
The center of the mural represents the hierarchy of the Aztec empire, with the King on top, the priest to his bottom left, and the jaguar soldier to his bottom right. The King wears a feathered eagle headdress to represent his strength and leadership, the priest holds a small temple in his bird-like hands, and the warrior blows on a conch shell.
The right side of the mural depicts a scene from the life of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war. The scene shows Huitzilopochtli sitting on a mountain, towering over the bones of his enemies as he ignites them into a single enormous ball of flame. Again, Rico narrates the scene:
“Upon the birth of Huitzilopochtli, he slays and dismembers Coyoxduhqui and her army at Mt. Coatepec...He also gave the Mexica a sign (eagle with a snake perched on a cactus) where Tenochtitlan was founded. The “Coyoxduhqui Stone” is at Mexico City D.F., in the Templo Mayor ruins.” |
The fourth myth is the legend of the volcanoes. Two volcanoes stand in the background of the mural, one on each side of the Aztec pyramid. According to legend, the Aztec warrior Popocatepetl fell in love with the emperor’s daughter, Iztaccihuatl. The king promised Popocatepetl his daughter’s hand if he defeated the Aztecs’ enemies in battle. Popocatepetl went bravely out to war and won every battle, but someone carried a false message to Iztaccihuatl that her lover had died. Overcome with grief, Iztaccihuatl took her own life. When Popocatepetl returned, he carried the princess’ body to the top pfo a mountain a lit a fire, calling the gods to awaken her from sleep. Today the mountain on the left, by the moon, is called the Sleeping Woman Mountain, and the mountain on the right is Popocatepetl’s Torch, an active volcano.
hISTORY
When Manny Castillo invited Izzy Rico to paint a second mural for San Anto Cultural Arts, Rico did not realize he would have to fill San Anto’s biggest wall to date. Rico chose his subject matter because the only other murals in the city that dealt with Aztec themes at the time were in the Alazan-Apache courts. The mural took a full year to complete. During the summer and sometimes after school hours, Rico worked closely with two high-school aged sisters, Krystal and Udanna Gonzales. Krystal worked on the mural until it was finished, but Udanna had to leave part way through to attend college. Before she left, she painted the feathered headdress over the Aztec emperor’s head, under Rico’s guidance. Sometimes, Rico worked alone late into the night. On other days, groups of over 60 volunteers from a local school joined the mural crew. On the very last day of painting, a can of silver paint splashed across the nearly-finished mural. Determined to finish the mural, Rico worked until 10:00pm on a Saturday night to wash off the excess silver and add the final details.
Although working with community and youth volunteers sometimes extended the mural process, Rico stayed dedicated to including as many people as possible. Rico credits this vision for community-based arts to San Anto founder Manny Castillo:
Although working with community and youth volunteers sometimes extended the mural process, Rico stayed dedicated to including as many people as possible. Rico credits this vision for community-based arts to San Anto founder Manny Castillo:
“One thing that Manuel always said was that people in the community are diamonds in the rough..one of the popular artists here in San Antonio was Jesse Trevino, now we have Nicky Soup and Paul Garson you know, the ones that have done the Spurs murals, well, you know what, we’ve got talented artists in our community as well, and we’re gonna show our community that these people are diamonds in the rough.” |
The Braun family, original owners of the building, were supportive of Rico’s project and even donated chicken and sausage to the mural blessing. Mayor Peak came to speak at the mural blessing, and the San Antonio Express News and KSYN covered the event. Poets Angela de Hoyos and Naphtali De Leon read original pieces in front of the mural. Since the dedication, Leyendas Aztecas has become part of the San Antonio landscape. The SA Current identified it as a mural every San Antonian should know, and TV cameras pan it in the background during broadcasts like the NBA finals. The mural is one of six San Anto murals on Brazos Street, the seed of the West Side mural corridor that Manny Castillo envisioned.
aBOUT THE aRTIST
Izzy on site at Leyendas Aztecas
|
Israel "Izzy" Rico found out about San Anto Cultural Arts in 1995 when he picked up a copy of El Placazo Community Newspaper in Bar America. He submitted a painting of Emiliano Zapata to the newspaper and when Manny Castillo saw it, he invited Izzy to lead a mural project. Ever the history buff, Rico’s first vision for a mural was a scene from the Battle of Puebla, telling the true story of Cinco de Mayo, Benito Juárez, and General Zaragoza. Although that mural did not pan out, Rico stayed in touch with San Anto until a wall on the side of the bar then called Culero’s became available. Rico completed his first mural, “Basta con la Violencia,” and then went on to paint “Leyendas Aztecas,” one of San Anto’s largest and most recognizable murals. Rico continues to work in San Antonio as an artist who mixes Chicano imagery and pop-culture and his work has been exhibited at Centro Cultural Aztlan, The Fiesta Bed & Breakfast, Museo Alameda, and Clear Channel’s San Antonio outdoor Billboard Digital Art gallery, as well as various local events. Read his full bio on his website.
|