Monday, July 2, 2012

Monday Mural: Aztec dreams

Otaez Mexican restaurant was one of the first businesses on International Blvd. to use murals to decorate their exterior wall.  More recently they've used murals to add pizazz to their interior.  For years I've seen this mural's central image on various business advertising calendars.  You see it almost as frequently as the Virgin of Guadalupe, (see her with Pope John Paul II in a framed print touching the left side of the mural?), which suggests it's an important cultural reference.   I'm embarrassed to admit I don't know what it refers to.  Can anyone enlighten me? 

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the murals posted this week.  Once you start looking, it's amazing how many you can find.

15 comments:

  1. Great mural and perfect for where it has been painted. The cross-cultural reference is piquant and part of the vitality that characterises central American/South American lands.

    Thanks for hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. great mural. but also what fantastic tiles. i love tiles.

    http://ewok1993.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have no clue but it is striking.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I posted a week are so ago about Ernesto's (a mexican restaurant) in my town. They have tabletops done in fantastic images under layers of polyurethane. I photographed all of them and this image is one of them. I did some research and found that it represents the romantic and tragic story of Mexico’s Romeo and Juliet – Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl.

    I found the information at this website: http://phoenixrealestatebloglive.com/arts/an-aztec-romance-3/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good to see such striking murals indoors as well as outside. Hope someone can tell you what it all means ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I thought he was Montezuma, but then I read Rita's comment and I remember the name Popocatépetl: it's a volcano I passed by on my way to Oxaca, coming from Mexico City. Then I found on Wikipedia that it's linked to Iztaccíhuatl volcano to the north - the names of both lovers.

    It's a great mural and I like the way you composed the shot.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like that fact that you included the framed photo along with the mural. It is very bright and colorful, and certainly gives something more interesting to view while dining than the traditional wall paint! Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous mural, and don't you love commenters, Thank you Rita and JM for enlightening us, it would have bugged me all day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I echo La Principessa Errante's sentiment... great to get the answer to the riddle! Having read the legend behind this mural I am a bit more accepting. Normally I am a bit turned off by images of hero men rescuing damsels in distress. But the universal Romeo-Juliet theme is heart-breaking. :-) Great shot, Carolyn.

    ReplyDelete
  10. There is always someone in the blogosphere who has the answer you need! Great mural.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good thing you got answers before I got here. I was going to give you an answer, too. But I was going to make up my answer . . .

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am always fascinated by images of the Virgin of Guadeloupe. I like the contrast of the diners with the ancient feel of the mural.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Two longtime friends catching up over lunch. That's all I see.

    ReplyDelete
  14. How wonderful to get information about this terrific mural!! Thanks to you for posting it and for commentors who identified and explained it!

    ReplyDelete