‘Welcoming’ Abuela Mural Watches Over Texas-Mexico Border

Out of the 50 Mexican consulate locations where the mural could have been painted, Presidio is the smallest and most remote – but it has a particularly collaborative relationship with its neighbor to the south.

By Bayla MetzgerMarch 7, 2018 10:52 am

From Marfa Public Radio:

For the last couple of weeks, LA-based artist Miles McGregor – known as El Mac – has been spending eight to 12 hours a day in a boom lift, repainting Presidio’s water tower. This past weekend, the completed image revealed itself: it’s of an abuela, a Mexican grandmother holding a rose.

The mural is based on a woman El Mac met in Presidio named Linda Luján, who has a shop where she sells used clothing. Luján is originally from Ojinaga, Mexico, and her work has allowed her to put her kids through college. According to El Mac, Luján seemed to exemplify many people who live along the border, and cross back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico regularly. El Mac liked that her face looked maternal, because life in the hot dry Chihuahuan Desert can be pretty harsh. “Painting an image that is something softer, more welcoming, more feminine, just seemed appropriate,” El Mac said.

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