Readers of Distant Cousin might wonder what Ana saw, early in the book, on her run along Interstate 10 in El Paso. Since it was by a freeway, most of us would expect it to be run down, industrialized, trashy, and generally unattractive. Parts of it are like that, but much of it is not.
These pictures show the freeway along the border south of downtown El Paso, near Chamizal Park. Considerable civic pride and artistry are on display.
The top photo shows a "mural" featuring patriotic motifs. The middle photo is of a rendering of La Virgen de Guadalupe, over some roses also characteristic of her story. The bottom is an image of Emiliano Zapata, revered Mexican freedom fighter during the Mexican Revolution.
Note the picnic benches, parking areas, and so forth. This is the way to dress up your freeways!
Other photos:
(More photos in Table of Contents at right)
2 comments:
Wow, love those murals! That really is the prettiest freeway I've ever seen!
Having been at this search for a good few hours, spurred by a recollection of an L.A. freeway mural along U.S. 101 depicted in the opening credits of "Hunter" decades ago (& discovering that indeed my fears for its safety were justified, damn vandals), I happened to come across these beautiful examples - & a little more delighted to discover they're located in El Paso, whence came an old friend, who though ain't there no more (having long been lured out to Reno by a higher paying job) still reflects with love on that town (inspiring a handful of my best written works!), so I know he'll love these. Maybe I can whip up another tale of Olde El Paso thereby! May they still beautify those places, & others elsewhere have joined them. Thus always to artists!
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