The City of Brownsville and Artville cultural projects are calling on local artists to participate in the creation of eight portable, wrap-around murals on the theme of the cultural fusion of Mexico and the United States in the Brownsville everyday life context within the yearly celebration of Charro Days.
There will be eight cubes, dimensions 5 x 5 x 5 ft, to be worked on with a stipend of $800 each and $100 for materials. Cubes and space to work will be provided.
“Charro Days is the biggest tradition in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley since 1937, celebrating the fusion of the Mexican and American cultures,” the announcement reads.
“In an effort to make this visible, we are looking for designs with strong icons of Mexican or Mexican-American origin that have permeated in our local culture to be the key visual elements in the composition for these murals that can give us a sense of what Brownsville is about and what makes us a unique city.”
The requirements to participate is to be 18 years or older, send an email to [email protected] with name, age, address, phone number, proposed design for the four sides of the portable mural in detail on jpg or pdf and five to ten images of your best artwork.
The deadline to submit your work is Feb. 21 and artists will be notified on Feb. 24. The work on the murals will be from Feb. 27 to March 14.
“What are these strong visual symbols for you? What are your memories about these that make you tie them to your life in the border? These can come from the most diverse sources: food, pop Mexican culture, family, binational life, language, TV shows, graphics from printed sources, music, traditions, etc.,” the release reads.
“We are looking for innovative and visually appealing contemporary designs that will be showcased in places such as Linear and Washington Park. Think Brownsville representative, think outside the box.”
This year, the Charro Days Fiesta Inc. Board of Directors has voted to not hold the festivities this year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The last time Charro Days was canceled was back in 1945 following World War II.
Charro Days Fiesta President Henry LeVrier said the decision was a difficult one to make but it was the right one to make in order to protect the public’s health.
However, there will be online celebrations such as the unveiling of a Charro Days poster, which took place a few days ago, and they are encouraging to celebrate Charro Days safely at home by decorating your house, wearing the costumes and uploading the photos online.
