Photo courtesy El Mac via Texas Observer
The small town of Presidio, Texas is home to Mexico’s smallest consulate. The Mexican government recently commissioned Los Angeles muralist Miles MacGregor, known as “El Mac,” to create a work as “a small binational gesture reminding those who reside in the margins that they are not forgotten,” reports the Texas Observer.
El Mac has painted murals across the globe, usually of everyday people (but there’s that big mural of Leonard Cohen in Montreal). The Observer notes:
Some residents recognized the face on the water tower as that of Linda Lujan, a 62-year-old Presidio resident who owns and operates a small secondhand shop just a stone’s throw from the International Port of Entry. Originally from Mexico, she emigrated to the United States more than 30 years ago to work and put her children through college. In many ways, her face was meant to be more broadly representative of the average person who resides in this border region. “It’s definitely based on her,” El Mac said, “but it’s a composite.”
The mural, visible from both sides of the border, is meant to be a reminder of the connection between Texas and Mexico and of the common people who live in the region.
