Valley needs year-round mural tour

By Ruben Hernandez

 It was only a matter of time before an enterprising art organization grabbed the great idea of starting a Phoenix’s mural tour. Phoenix arts activist Mary Stephens (Maria del Viento), owner of the Phoenix Youth Hostel and Cultural Center, and her helpers have organized a walking mural tour for Sunday, May 26 from 7-9 p.m.  The fee is $10 per person and people will meet at the Hostel, 1026 N. 9^th St., in Phoenix to begin the tour.

 The Sunday tour takes in 12 stops along a mile journey. It starts in the Garfield area Hostel and continues to the new Water Writes mural on the wall of the downtown Phoenix Valley Youth Theatre.

 Some of the muralistas who painted the large-scale wall artwork will discuss the projects and their themes with tour attendees.

 Murals, especially Mexican and Chicano pieces, have always been inherently political, pointing out past injustices and advocating against the political powers that be for justice for the oppressed. Many murals create interaction and dialogue between the artists and the community.

 For example, the Water Writes mural, an art project in collaboration with the Black Mesa Water Coalition, has as its theme the use and abuse of water, with the coal mine and generating plant on and near the Navajo and Hopi reservations as central images.

 Some of the muralistas and their works the Hostel tour will encompass include a group of about 20 artistas, including Lalo Cota, Angel Diaz, and Jaque Fragua.

 Hopefully, this tour will become a regular art event for Arizona residents and tourists to attend. There are many other murals that could be included, and a bus chartered that could take the mural aficionados to each mural site.

 Many pioneer local muralistas such as Jim Covarrubias, Zarco Guerrero, and Martin Moreno were inspired by the Mexican muralista art movement headed by Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros and Jose Orozco. These Chicano veteran artists still have murals around town that could be included on a regular tour.The Calle 16 arts district and its murals on the Barrio Café restaurant and surrounding walls would make a perfect tour stop.

 Local restaurants and art galleries would benefit economically. It would certainly make the Valley an art destination.

 The model for a Phoenix mural tour is the Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center in San Francisco’s Mission District. The center offers several different guided mural tour walks, and includes tours by bus and bicycles.

 This kind of cultural and historic mural tour could attract school field trip tours for students of all ages. A special tour to fit the needs of the elderly and disabled would also benefit those art lovers and benefit our local independent stores, galleries and economy.

 Any art organizations out there willing to step up and make year-round tours a reality for the local art scene?