Greeting Card: Mexican-American History & Culture in 20th Century Houston Mural

The Heritage Society commissioned a mural to celebrate the many contributions of our city’s Mexican-American community. In the spirit of the great Mexican muralists, this vibrant collective artwork, Mexican-American History & Culture in 20th Century Houston, highlights the places, personalities, concepts and events that shaped the Mexican-American community and laid the foundation for the multicultural city we live in today. Set in Connally Plaza against a dramatic backdrop of City Hall and the downtown skyline, the new mural is a cultural landmark in the historic heart of Houston.

Mural artists Laura López Cano and Jesse Sifuentes, along with key fundraisers and government officials celebrated the unveiling to Houstonians in September 2018, the month of when National Hispanic Heritage Month begins.  For National Hispanic Heritage Month, we have several outdoor activities being celebrated around the mural.  The vibrant mural, located at 1100 Bagby Street, overlooks Connally Plaza and is impressively surrounded by the downtown skyline and majestic oak trees.

This mural spotlights 38 places, personalities, and events that played a key role in the growth of this community and provides recognition for the countless and essential contributions of Mexican Americans to the economy, culture, and vitality of our city in the 1900s.  Some of the people on the masterpiece are still actively playing a key role and representing the Mexican American spirit and way of life well into this century.  Locals and tourists will also see that there are U.S. presidents and first ladies who attended a League of United Latin American Citizens event at the Rice Hotel that made history.  One may also connect that it is befitting that those presidents overlook the Connally Plaza, because Texas Governor John Connally was with them that evening on November 21, 1963.  The story does not end there which is why one needs a historian to explain the history surrounding each subject.

The mural tells a story of how Mexican Americans developed their own neighborhoods last century during a time of segregation and showcases successful businesspeople, civil rights leaders, restaurant owners, veterans, government leaders, and community figures.  The mural’s themes include Mexican immigration as people fled the Revolution at home, the jobs that the new immigrants took on the railroads and in Ship Channel industries, and life in El Segundo Barrio.  Other cultural themes on the mural like entertainment and multigenerational families are relatable to most cultures in our diverse city.