Lincoln
Park Murals
I have
lived in El Paso Texas for over more than 15 years and have been to the Lincoln
Park one time prior to today’s visit which was with the Utep class. The first
time I went it was because my husband and I were invited to a car show about 6
years ago. As we were there I noticed the painted murals and thought they were
really cool and interesting. I remember acknowledging every painter since the
paintings on the murals looked very nice and detailed to me. However, that was
it. I never looked beyond the painting and actually reasoned what they meant or
what their message was. Never did I ever felt any emotion towards the murals
since I had no idea of what they meant.
Now
that I have taken a Feminism class and I am currently taking this Chicana class
I can now say that I saw all the murals with a very different perspective. I couldn’t
believe how many different thoughts and emotions I felt towards them. It made
me feel proud of my roots, it made me feel as an empowered woman yet not so
empowered. It also made me feel happy as well as disappointed. I was able to
see a theme which relates to Chicano Culture in the United States; and I also
noticed how women played an important role on these murals since majority of
them had a woman painted.
As I
started looking at some of the murals one of my favorites was the following:
As soon as I saw this painting I felt happy because it
made me realize how women are portrayed “equally” as men to some point. On this
painting I saw how this woman has a very confident face expression which I felt
in love especially seeing all her empowerment vibes! Like on the video we watched
before on our class regarding the “pachucas” “chicanas” clothing style this
woman is dressed like a “pachuco” would dress but in a feminine way; which to
me it means how they can easily be equally treated as a man since they can do
the same as them and not be limited just because they are women. The Mexican and
the United States flag gave me that Mexican-American feel to the painting, how Mexican
culture is nicely represented in the United States. Even though I mentioned how
this mural made me feel like an empowered woman it also showed me and reminded me
of how women had fought for their equality throughout life; the reason for this
is that the woman on the painting is holding a heart on her hand with several swords
stabbing it which means that it has not and will never be easy to be a woman. That
of course woman has been through a rough path and still stand up to what is
next. Lastly, on this picture I saw at the very top some painted old cars which
to me it meant a description as part of their culture.
As I continued walking
through the park, the following mural was also one my favorites:
This mural shows a woman relating and connecting to Mother
Nature as she connects to the world. Women have the power and the honor to
raise (grow) these corn crops which to me signify the power of pregnancy,
having another life growing inside a woman’s life and seeing them grow into
these well strong Indians she has on top by her hands. The pyramid shown at the
bottom represents Mexico and its culture. As soon as I saw this I was very
proud to see how nicely a woman is portrayed till I took it on a different
perspective. The question is: are women the only ones who “have” to be motherly
and nurturing to others all the time? It
is disappointed to see how a woman is expected to act and be towards society.
Overall,
this trip to the Lincoln Park was very interesting as I learned so much about these
paintings. These murals have so much background information that we can
acquire. Each one of the murals has a story to say and it is beautiful. I really
appreciate how we can see and feel proud of our Mexican-American culture even
though we live in the United States.
