{Reading the prologue is highly recommended}

Diamonds in the rough, the San Anto Cultural Arts’ Community Mural & Public Art can be found in a cluster of barrios known as La Tripa, El Con, and Ghost Town. There are over 35 (and counting) of these gems scattered throughout a community whose makeup is approximately 97% Mexican-American, whose drop-out rate is as high as 60%, whose teen pregnancy rate is one of the highest in the country, and where heroin addiction and prostitution is rampant. Nevertheless, the Westside is an artistic and cultural mecca.

 San Anto Cultural Arts (SACA) was founded in August of 1993 by a small group of community residents who wanted a better community and who wanted to preserve their culture through the process of creating art. Their program offers an alternative to the afflictions that plague inner city areas by promoting education and providing access to the tools and support systems necessary to succeed in life, to people of all ages. All murals are created by residents of the community, consisting of a Lead Muralist and Crew Members with assistance from the Community Mural Program Coordinator. 

Their first Mural, Educación, was blessed and dedicated on July 16, 1994 and is located on the corner of Chupaderas and Guadalupe.
Right next to is is Tradicion y Cultura

I met with Ruth, the current Community Mural Program Coordinator, who took me (and my then 1.5 year old daughter) on a very educationally rich, private mural tour down Trinity Street. Where I saw and was educated on the following murals:

The 8 Stages of the Life of a Chicana, 1995    

Trinity, 2008

Mossaico de la Virgen de Guadelupe, 2003 and
Peace and Remembrance, 2001

Cultura y Revolución, 2004 and
Seeds of Solidarity, 2005

Since then I’ve visited the community murals on my own, without the girl on my hip and armed with my camera. I won’t lie. I felt way out of place and a lot less confident as I walked around the barrios by myself. I felt intimidated only once when I was taking pictures of Cultura y Revolución (pictured above), on the corner of Patricio and Trinity. A big guy, covered in tattoos, asked me what I was taking pictures of with a tone of defensive offensiveness, if that makes any sense. I explained and we went on with our lives. No big deal.

The community is very prideful of their art (and rightly so). As I was taking photos of Seeds of Solidarity, I was approached by a young, twenty-something woman who recommended several other murals that I just had to see before I left for the day.

The murals are beautiful. Brimming with indigenous Mexican symbolism and pre-Columbian imagery, each tell their own story of the artist, of the muralists, of the community, of the culture and of the times we live. And believe it or not, I left much more for you to discover on your own!

The best part is that the project is changing the landscape of the Westside in a positive way. The community feels a sense of pride and ownership in them. The murals, where they are commissioned, have replaced the canvas for tagging and are not disturbed. Their newest mural is slated to go up in the Haven for Hope complex.

To learn more about the stories behind the murals, I highly recommend going on one of the mural tours with Ruth Buentello, she’s great. You can reach her by email: ruth@sananto[dot]org or by telephone: 210/226.7466. SACA hosts walking tours and bike tours. They cost $10 per person and take from 1.5 to 2 hours. SACA is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to provide and create community-based cultural arts programs that fosters the development of individuals and their community.” You can visit them and learn more about their programs on the San Anto Cultural Arts website.

You can also see a sampling of the Westside’s murals in the short film, Take Five on the Westside by filmaker Theresa Coronado. It was the third runner up in the inaugural Texas Monthly Where I’m From short film contest.

This is the dog that followed me around the Westside, making sure I didn’t cause any trouble. I named him Chalupa.

{aside: I wrote this while drinking Tecate from a can and noshing Chicharrón. Puro San Antonio}