El Rio Neighborhood Center has a new mural on its walls, and it's the first one to go from design to completion with the help of its neighborhood patrons.
About 60 children ranging from preschoolers to high school students helped art teacher Paloma Jacqueline create "Agua Corriendo," or "Running Water," using various media including tiles and clay. The mural is on display at the northeast wall of the center.
Though it is not likely to carry the same world-class pedigree as the other murals that have graced the center's exterior walls for 30 years, "Agua Corriente" garnered a lot of attention as kids worked to blend tile, clay and paint into a vibrant work of art this spring.
"Some people would drive by in their cars and stop to look at what we were doing," Jacqueline said. "They would come and talk to us or give us food. Because these kids who helped were from the neighborhood, it was inevitable that the families would get involved."
People are also reading…
The mural will get an official dedication June 22. City Council members and Tucson Parks and Recreation Director Fred Gray are expected to attend.
Jacqueline said she's never helped design a mural before, so she took children out to riverbeds to help her come up with ideas for a mural with a nature theme.
She was encouraged to make a mural that was radically different from the ones David Tineo, Tomas Bandaries and Antonio Pazos created for the center in the 1970s. Those murals feature images that hint at racial tension, death, hunger and equality.
"We wanted to celebrate the neighborhood in a different way," Jacqueline said.
After a few weeks of brainstorming sessions last fall, the look of the mural took shape. Two farmers are seen sprinkling the words "El Rio" into the ground as water flows nearby, and as the seasons progress, a large tree sprouts out of the ground and crops are ready for harvesting. The tree's trunks are made of clay pieces with the shapes of leaves pressed into them, and footprints are seen along the dried-up riverbed.
At least 10 children were available every day to help with the mural's five-week installation, Jacqueline said.
Though admittedly simplistic, Jacqueline said, the images carry deep symbolic meaning for the neighborhood. The evolution from seed to tree, as well as the passing of the seasons, represents the wide age demographic in the neighborhood. And the farmers planting "El Rio" into the ground depict the center's beginnings as a hub of activity for residents.
"The earliest people who were around when the center was built helped instill knowledge and helped the center to grow," Jacqueline said.
Rachael Simon, a recreation assistant for Tucson Parks and Recreation who helped with the mural, said the children were the ones directing the progress of the mural, which not only taught them about teamwork, but also gave them a strong sense of ownership.
"We wanted them to come back in 10 or 15 years and tell their kids that this mural was theirs," Simon said. "These kids now are going to be the ones that keep this neighborhood going."
Maria Robles, 15, said she didn't realize how much the mural would mean to her or the neighborhood as she was helping to glue pieces of tile onto the wall.
"It took a lot longer than I thought," she said. "But it was better than just painting."
WEST SIDE
If you go
What: Dedication of "Agua Corriendo" mural
When: 6-9 p.m. June 22
Where: El Rio Neighborhood Center, 1390 W. Speedway
For information: Call 791-4683
