Muralist David Tineo, right, and Ceci Garcia watch as “Nuestras Raices Humanas” is removed from the art museum.
We’re defining Tucson in 100 objects. The daily series began April 20. Follow along at azstarnet.com/100objects
The mural movement of post-Revolution Mexico led to the colorful art that adorns the walls of private and public buildings in Tucson.
The themes of the government-supported murals of artists such as Diego Rivera celebrated Mexico’s history and the common man, including an elevation of indigenous people.
Those themes echoed in the United States during the Civil Rights era, finding expression in Chicano communities, beginning in Los Angeles and spreading across the Southwest.
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In Tucson, it found expression on public buildings, notably El Rio Neighborhood Center, scene of a political struggle between the city of Tucson and westsiders who wanted a park where the city owned a golf course.
Antonio Pazos and David Tineo painted the first two murals. More were added over time at El Rio — and across Tucson.
The Tucson version of the art form received its “artistic” imprimatur when Tineo and Pazos were hired to create a mural on the exterior wall of the Tucson Museum of Art, to accompany an exhibit of Chicano art in 1992.
That “temporary” installation, weathered and flaking, was finally taken down in 2011.
