#14 - Insomne de Amor
This mural was painted over in February 2018.
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Location: 2404 S. Zarzamora
Dimensions: 14' x 40' Original date: August 1999 Lead artist: Rigoberto Luna Restoration date: August 2008 Restoration lead artist: Ruth Buentello Restoration crew members: Bianca Arguellez, Brian Arista, Kim Bishop, David Blancas, Celeste de Luna, Adriana Garcia, Alejandro Garcia, Cardee Garcia, Christian Rodriguez, Alex Rubio, Alexandra Salinas, Enrico "Caso" Salinas, Julio Trevino |
Insomne de Amor celebrates familial love through a series of snapshot images, including grandparents, grandchildren, and married couples. Rigoberto Luna designed the mural both to honor his own family and to illuminate a dreary intersection by replacing the graffiti tagging on Kwik Wash Laundry with a brightly-colored painting. The mural moves from a morning to an evening sky, representing the passage of time and abiding power of love. The mural was restored in 2008, almost a decade after the original painting.
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Content and Design
Rigoberto Luna designed this mural as snapshots of a loving, caring family. The original mural shows six images from left to right: a woman caring for her three sons, an elderly man, a father hugging his two children after work, a middle-aged couple kissing, a grandmother in a rocking chair holding her grandchild, and an older couple dancing under the stars to conjunto music. While the images come from real life, details like the father’s superman shirt and the grandmother’s halo show the deep love and respect that runs between family members. Luna painted super-dad as his own father. He also special care with the portrait of his grandmother Guadalupe Rodriguez, who died in 1990. Guadalupe is the figure in the rocking chair with a halo over her head. Luna told the San Antonio Express-News,
She was actually the first person to see me paint. I figured putting her on the wall would make her live. I spent a lot of time on her face because if it wasn’t right, it wouldn’t be my grandmother. |
The restored mural follows the same design as the original, but the images are more three-dimensional and the background colors are brighter. Additionally, the restored mural eliminates the image of the woman with three children and shows five snapshots instead of six: an older man in a button-down standing with his arms folded, a grandfather in a superman shirt with two granddaughters, a middle aged couple about to kiss, a grandmother seated with a grandchild, and a middle-aged couple dancing.
Both versions of the mural move from right to left from a clear daylit sky to an evening sky, representing the passage of time and the endurance of love. Both are bordered by papel picado designs. Both include the text of 1 Corinthians 13:4-10 in Spanish:
“Tener amor es saber soportar, es ser bondadoso; es no tener envidia, ni ser presumido, ni orgullosa, ni grosero, ni agonista; es no enojarse ni guardar rencor; es no alegrarse de las injusticias sino de la verdad. Tener amor es sufrirlo todo, creerlo todo, esperarlo todo, soportarlo todo.”
Both versions of the mural move from right to left from a clear daylit sky to an evening sky, representing the passage of time and the endurance of love. Both are bordered by papel picado designs. Both include the text of 1 Corinthians 13:4-10 in Spanish:
“Tener amor es saber soportar, es ser bondadoso; es no tener envidia, ni ser presumido, ni orgullosa, ni grosero, ni agonista; es no enojarse ni guardar rencor; es no alegrarse de las injusticias sino de la verdad. Tener amor es sufrirlo todo, creerlo todo, esperarlo todo, soportarlo todo.”
History
Rigoberto Luna, a former San Anto youth volunteer, led this mural project to completion at age 18. He had recently graduated from Southwest High School, but reports that he learned more about art from his older brother Ruben and his father, who is featured in the original mural as the man in a superman shirt. The original mural blessing on August 14, 1999 drew over 200 people. Neighbors received the mural enthusiastically, hoping it would deter graffiti on the Kwik Wash Laundry building.
After almost ten years of exposure to the elements and some unusual cases of mural tagging, Insomne de Amor came up for restoration in 2008. Mural coordinator Gerry Garcia envisioned the restoration as a more sophisticated version of the original piece, compatible with Luna’s growth as an artist and San Anto’s growth as an organization. Ruth Buentello lead the mural restoration in consultation with Luna. Father Marty Elsner of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church blessed the restored mural after a musical performance by Lupita De La Paz, speeches, and poetry reading by Imelda Zapata Garcia, followed by food and dancing.
Although Luna had volunteered on Israel Rico’s mural Leyendas Aztecas, leading the community process for Insomne de Amor transformed his perspective on murals:
After almost ten years of exposure to the elements and some unusual cases of mural tagging, Insomne de Amor came up for restoration in 2008. Mural coordinator Gerry Garcia envisioned the restoration as a more sophisticated version of the original piece, compatible with Luna’s growth as an artist and San Anto’s growth as an organization. Ruth Buentello lead the mural restoration in consultation with Luna. Father Marty Elsner of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church blessed the restored mural after a musical performance by Lupita De La Paz, speeches, and poetry reading by Imelda Zapata Garcia, followed by food and dancing.
Although Luna had volunteered on Israel Rico’s mural Leyendas Aztecas, leading the community process for Insomne de Amor transformed his perspective on murals:
When I went into it I kinda wanted to do it for myself, but as time went on and I noticed that the community appreciated it - the mural had an effect on them - the wall became more theirs than mine. |