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Mexico and its muralists have shone in the entire world. The legacy of Orozco, Rivera and Siqueiros was a watershed; however, the new generations of Mexican artists shout to the four winds that they are more active than ever and Puerto Vallarta is no exception.
I am a fan of all forms of art and murals definitely steal my attention. Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas are lucky to be a temporary or permanent home for many artists. This bay has become the favorite place to inspire Mexican and foreign artists.
And currently, Mexico has the look of young artists who have emerged and who are shining in the world for their great talent. Puerto Vallarta is no exception, its streets have been filled with color and life. The murals have become one more element of the urban landscape; in which the artists reveal the beauty of our roots through various Mexican symbols.
Puerto Vallarta murals
I am fortunate to live in a paradise that never ceases to amaze me. One of the things I like the most is that it has color everywhere. The intense green of its mountains, the sea with its different shades of blue and its palette of endless colors at each sunset. In addition to this, the Bay of Banderas has been a multicultural mosaic since the middle of the last century, in which people from all over the world converge with one objective: to enjoy its beauty.
Thus, various artists from Mexico and the world have come to this bay embedded in the Mexican Pacific to further beautify this city.
In this literary walk through the most beautiful bay, I present to you Misael López. A Mexican-American artist who arrived in Puerto Vallarta in 2010 and who, with great talent, gives us one of his beautiful murals to our city.
Misael López Martínez, is originally from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. His parents emigrated to Minnesota, United States when he was barely two years old. He is the second of three brothers. In 2010 he arrived in Mexico because he was deported, but that was not an impediment for him to continue fulfilling his dream: painting.
At the age of four, Misael López found in painting a language to feel integrated and to communicate what he could not with the language.
He continued painting and over the years the technique and talent began to appear; as well as the rebelliousness of adolescence. At that stage the first walls for graffiti were also presented. It was like this, that the small grew to large scales; until they become murals.
At the age of 23, he was already a recognized graffiti artist in the underground scene in Minnesota. The world of galleries was not yet part of his experience, however, his talent was on the rise when he was deported to Mexico.
Misael's arrival in Vallarta
The son of Mexican parents, Misael grew up in a foreign environment, so culture shock was inevitable upon his arrival in Mexico. Despite the traumatic event, since part of his family stayed in the American Union, his heart was even more rooted in Mexico.
After passing through Nuevo Laredo and the violence that the country was experiencing at that time, he arrived in Vallarta invited by a friend; a quiet and safe place.
“I didn't know that Vallarta was a town full of art. I did not know the sea and my encounter with it was tremendously healing”. "They say that the sea heals everything and I believe that it is true."
Inspired by the beauty of Vallarta, Misael began to build a local scene for young artists that was then in short supply. The walls of some hidden neighborhoods in Puerto Vallarta were the first canvases they used to graffiti with friends. Until one day, the Municipality allowed them to paint the wall of the fields that are behind Parque Hidalgo. There he understood the importance of aesthetic things that can influence from a child, to a young person or an older adult.
Mexico, New York and Los Angeles united by urban art
Chicano art from East Los Angeles through New York, has been the main influence for Misael, until he arrived in Mexico and merged Huichol art and native elements that symbolize Aztec culture to define what he is now, his own style.
Misael is a simple 34-year-old artist who has learned to value the chiaroscuro of circumstances. For this reason, duality is an important part of his pictorial work, which has recently been valued by the foreign and national community in an important way and in smaller formats due to its depth and beauty. However, he does not stop participating in initiatives that have to do with the cultural and artistic sphere of Puerto Vallarta, such as the call that the city government made to beautify the pantheons where he also actively participated.
In a more recent event supported by the private initiative and the Culture authorities of the municipality, you can find the one that looks today on Abasolo street in the central neighborhood and that is the cover photo of this article. Puerto Vallarta is in the eyes of the world and enjoys cultivating art in all its manifestations: Urban art that gives color and life to the entire Banderas Bay.
Learn more about his work at www.misaelpaints.com and on Instagram and Facebook.
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