Vibrant Border Art Brings Light to Social Injustice

By Kennedy Carr ~ Baja News

At no other time in history has there been more brilliant portrayals of Mexican mural art then there is now. Standing at the shoreline of Playas de Tijuana there is a giant wall that leads down into the ocean separating the two countries. This most western part of Mexico is a vortex of cultural, social, political evolution and activism. Mexico’s most famed muralist have gathered at the bi-national Park of Friendship to conduct a renovation of the weathered and tampered murals that have adorned the wall since 2016.

What makes these murals stand out is the vibrant use of strong, bold colors, which can be seen from far away. Poignant depictions of the families most affected, economic struggle, class, beliefs, and pride are all on display and open to artistic interpretation. For many, art is seen as a way of life. However, in Mexico, life is art. It’s this intimacy and unabashed attitude towards art that prevails and makes Mexican mural art so powerful and worth seeing in person.

Current border regulations makes a travesty of the notion of international “friendship,” which lies at the heart of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, and to which the surrounding Border Field State Park was dedicated by then-First Lady Pat Nixon in 1971. As current U.S. political administration continues to target asylum seekers and separate families from Mexico and Central America, artists from around the world, financial donors, local politicians, educators and film actors are addressing the social injustice through the support of Mexican mural art at this tormented region of separatism.

The U.S.-Mexico border is commonly characterized as a place defined by criminality and violence. This portrayal betrays a profound misunderstanding of what life on the border is really like. In fact, the border is marked most profoundly by peaceful human encounter. More goods and people cross the US-Mexico border each day than any other border in the world. And millions celebrate relationships of family and friendship that traverses the international boundary.

Commonly referred to as Dreamers, thousands of people are deported by the U.S. each year. For these people, deportation does not at all feel like being sent “home,” but rather, feels like being pushed into exile or banishment. Their American family members cross the border to visit on the weekends, or, in many cases, move to the Mexican side of the border and cross into the U.S. on a daily basis to go to work and school. For these families, the prospect of further border restrictions is threatening their core existence and means of survival.

With the looming threat of further regulations of the U.S./Mexico border, more people whose lives do not intersect with the border on a regular basis are thinking more about the border than usual. But before this recent wave of attention, artists have been drawn to the border and have been drawing attention to the myriad issues it raises through Mexican mural art for decades. Mexicans are extremely proud of their art history and has a long tradition of mural painting.

This tradition started under Hispanic rule as murals were used to introduce the Mexican people to the stories and ideas of Catholicism. From this point on, mural painting became one of the most dominant forms of art in Mexican culture, a countrywide tool for means of expression. This precedence provided a ready made platform for the politically motivated and fostered the birth of the Mexican Muralism movement.

Importantly, most Mexicans at the time were illiterate, and promoting the new government's message could not be accomplished through traditional media such as pamphlets and newspapers. Instead, the government communicated their cause through large-scale murals in public places which could be seen by many. The murals' aesthetic appeal would also help Mexicans adapt to the new regime by affecting an overall sense of pride and cultural beauty within the communities as a whole.

The murals were usually painted with themes glorifying the Mexican Revolution, recalling Mexico's early pre-Hispanic heritage and promoting the ideals of the new government. In order to create these murals, the government employed some of the best Mexican artists of the day. Some of these artists, including Diego Rivera, had spent time in Europe before the revolution, and were well acquainted with the European realism movement overseas in which artists used painting to demonstrate the dire conditions of the downtrodden working classes. This was a key influence on the revelatory style of the Mexican Muralist movement.

David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, and Diego Rivera became the leaders of the muralist movement in Mexico and became known internationally as "los tres grandes" or "the big three." Rivera was the most famous of these artists. He incorporated European Modernism and elements of Cubism into his work combined with Mexico's bright colors to depict his people, and particularly the working class, as noble and glorious.

At Friendship Park, this cultural tradition continues its current legacy. Mexican mural artist Enrique Chiu has been transforming the border wall into a magnificent piece of art. His mission is to change the border from something that divides two countries into something that bridges the gap between citizens of both countries and brings about an air of synchronization. For nearly three years now, Chiu has been donating his time to make the border wall a beautiful piece of art. His mission is to change the border from something that divides two countries into something that brings the citizens of both countries together.

“I started this project December 1, 2016. Instead of division, what this represents, I am trying to do more a union of the community of both sides of the border,” he says. Chiu’s mural is called Mural de la Hermandad or the "Brotherhood Mural." It has hundreds of bright colors to light up the hearts of those who see it. His stroke of genius has inspired others to get involved, and more than 4,000 people have volunteered their time to help him paint. “Artists from Japan, China, New Zealand, Germany, Guatemala, Canada, the U.S., they come to paint with us,” says the mural artist. Chiu paints on the third weekend of each month.

He says that everyone is welcome to help out. You don’t need to be a professional painter, but you do need to have a positive attitude. “We just enjoy the time. We join other people together and work with them,” he says. The mural currently spans more than two kilometers. The artist's goal is to eventually make it the longest mural in the world.

Another exceptional mural artist is Omar Moctezuma, who recently painted on the border wall at Friendship Park in Playas de Tijuana, a replica of the mural titled "Clown Camo Boy ", created by the painter Ron English as a collaboration of the Brotherhood Mural project. Collaborating with the founder of the Brotherhood Mural project, Enrique Chiu, Monctezuma explained that one of the main ideas of the mural is “to lay down the wall, not physically, but visually. Hundreds of artists from around the world have participated in the development of the border wall project.

Moctezuma said that the artist Enrique Chiu project was already formed, however, the US government removed the previous wall and replaced it with a more colossal barricade. This was considered to be a blow to many of the community artists who collaborated in the creation of the project, although He said that this has not slowed Enrique Chiu, but quite the opposite, since it influenced the creation of a new mural with greater content.

The Brotherhood Mural project will have another intervention with the invitation of several artists on February 15, at the border wall located at Friendship Park in Playas de Tijuana. There is no doubt that the murals painted are the finest ever created by contemporary Mexican mural artists. The display is a must see for any art enthusiasts and cultural creatives from all walks of life.