Mexican Murals - Mexicasia in the Barrio [CCC's Street Art Contest #184]

A couple of weeks ago I happened to pass through the Azcapotzalco district of Mexico City, more precisely through the neighborhood of the same name. It is not a "bad area" in terms of being dangerous, at least not any more dangerous than other parts of Mexico. It is just very "barrio", meaning working class, a bit shabby, but all the more colorful. Though my original purpose was not to look for murals, in the end I was not surprised to find a true gems of street art in this part of the city. It's located on Av. Miguel Hidalgo between Av. Aquiles Serdán and the former railroad Av. FFCC Nacionales, which today is a bike path.

Is Mixed Media the right term?

Or is it just a mix of different styles? Maybe even a mix of different artists who might have combined their efforts to create this weirdly interesting but truly impressive wall paining. It certainly invites you to stop and look at it more carefully.

Certainly the most eye-catching feature is on the right end, showing a musician playing his guitar with the Méxica Sun Stone as a backdrop. At first he could be mistaken for a later stage Michael Jackson, but a more careful look will reveal his Asian features (not lastly his tattoo on his left fingers, spelling out ASIA). The wave in front of him looks also suspiciously like the famous Kanagawa Wave, identifying this artist at least as Asian-Mexican.

Weirder Stuff on the Left

The left side of the mural is in stark contrast to the musician on the right, and I can't really explain what it is we're looking at. The image includes a running cat, a number of sundials (?) a prehispanic statue, a human head with a birdhouse in its ear, some artistic lettering too abstract to decipher, and even some graffiti style shapes. The overall result is a genuinely cool mural, with an interpretation I'd rather leave to each individual observer.

The same thing can be said about the artist(s), for whom I only found one possible identifying mark, which I didn't even manage to read. So instead I will magnify it and post it here for you all to look up, if you want.

As always, this mural is my entry to this week's CCC's Street Art Contest. Make sure to visit it to find other amazing street art submitted by Hivers from around the world. Also, to see more of the murals I have found in Mexico, visit my Mexican Murals post collection.