Mural Planning

As I research, I am planning the mural I will create. I plan to paint at Austin's only legal graffiti wall, Castle Hill (HOPE Outdoor Gallery.) I have heard rumors from local graffiti writers that the site is being torn down and developed into expensive apartments in January, but I sincerely hope this is not true. Despite its reputation as a city that fosters creativity, Austin is surprisingly lacking in public art spaces such as this.

Due to Emme Tenayuca's affiliation with the communist party, I began my research by looking at Soviet propaganda posters. The powerful visuals and colors of Soviet posters have always fascinated me, and I wanted to create a mural in a similar style, emulating the movement and action suggested in them. In focusing on older posters, I also hope to reflect Emma Tenayuca's period of activism, particularly the 30's Pecan Sheller's Strike.

From here, I explored other posters from Emma Tenayuca's activism period. Both of these are from around the time of WWII.

I feel that I have pretty poor results so far. Coming up with a mural design in the middle of exams and final papers is tough.

studies of poster line work and composition

I am debating between a very simple image that focuses on the figure of Tenayuca herself or an image that attempts to incorporate some of her work and vision into the piece. Either way, I want to suggest the prominence of the jail cell in her early work, since I feel that her bravery and sense of humor about her imprisonment is a key piece of her character. 

Emma Tenayuca in front of her jail cell in San Antonio. Image credit: Briscoe Center for American History, UT Austin.

Emma Tenayuca's Relevance to Modern Life

Over the next few days, I will post about how Emma Tenayuca's activism is still relevant to us today, as well as demonstrate the connected nature of her areas of work. The more I research Tenayuca, the more connections I make between her activism and current events.  The issues she worked on are far from solved, and some have arguably grown into worse problems despite the effort she and others put into fighting them. Emma Tenayuca's life and work are still highly relevant, and burying her in the confined of history without making these connections is a serious detriment to progress.

Emma Tenayuca, age 21, with the Pecan Shellers Strike

Nearly every issue Emma Tenayuca addressed during her life continues to this day. Latinos, both recent immigrants and native citizens, are alienated or rejected by normative society. Although the situation has changed for many, Tenayuca’s description of Latinos as a “conquered people” still holds true in many ways 1. The land grabs that removed ancestral lands from Mexican residents in the United States have not been reversed, and this modern day form of conquering continues with unjust deportations and racially targeted laws such as Arizona’s SB 1070 2.

This process of conquering demonstrates ongoing white domination in an era where we as American citizens brush the thought of colonialism aside as a thing of the past.  Although the United States may no longer be taking lands by force (as we and other Western nations have already taken nearly all that there was to take), cultural colonialism of non-whites continues in full force as our national ideology encourages homogeneity.  In Emma Tenayuca’s past, homogeneity in Texas was enforced through techniques such as the exclusion of Mexican voters through restrictive voting laws and poll taxes 3. Political exclusion continues today with Texas’ recent redistricting and voter ID laws.

Emma Tenayuca in front of San Antonio City Hall, 1938

Tenayuca’s work with unions and labor reform are particularly striking to think about at this time of year not only because it is the beginning of the holiday consumer craze, but also because of the nationwide workers’ protests against their treatment during Black Friday. Tenayuca worked for livable wages and fought against the abuse of low wage laborers.  Decades later, the same issues persist.

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1. Emma Tenayuca, “The Mexican Question,” in La Voz de Esperanza, ed. Antonio Casteñeda, September 1999, 13.

2. Tenayuca, “Question,” 14.

3. Tenayuca, “Question,” 14.

Image Credits
Image 1 and 2: Institute of Texan Cultures, reproduced by San Antonio Express in article "Marker to Honor Labor Leader."

Statement of Intent

On March 5th, 1960, photographer Alberto Korda snapped his iconic photograph of Che Guevara for a Cuban newspaper, never knowing the capitalist power it would one day wield1.  Today, one sees images of Che Guevara everywhere- on t-shirts, dorm room posters, even underwear- despite the fact that virtually none of those wearing his image have any notion of his politics or actions.  The same is true for other radical Latinos and Latinas. Drug lord Pablo Escobar even has an entire clothing line dedicated to him.  The radical Latinos and Latinas who make it into popular culture and onto shirts all seem to be associated with revolution or violence of some form, giving them a "Hollywood" aspect that makes them provocative and edgy. This of course sells to teens and others who desire to be perceived as rebellious, though not too rebellious for fear of being ostracized. The t-shirt lends all of the rebellion that they desire. Emma Tenayuca was doubtless a rebellious figure, so why is it that she never made an entry into popular culture?

Labor reform is far from glamourous in the eyes of modern society. This form of rebellion might even mean you are a communist, which Emma Tenayuca happened to be.  Despite the lack of the "Hollywood" element in Tenayuca's life, I find her a fascinating figure, and one who has unfortunately been neglected in history.

To pay tribute to her life and work, I plan to paint a mural of Emma Tenayuca memorializing her activism in San Antonio. This blog will serve as a log of the research I do in preparation for the mural, as well as the preparation I do for the design of the mural. My purpose in creating this mural is double. First, I want to pay homage to someone who I consider an inspirational and sadly forgotten historical figure. Second, I would like this mural to serve as public education as it is an effort to bring her actions back into the public eye.

Over the next week or so, I will examine Tenayuca's life and activism through the lens of this project, covering the issues she worked on and their relevancy today, why she interested me, and how I have incorporated all these elements of her life into my mural.

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1. Chevolution. Directed by Lopez, Luis and Trisha Ziff. 2008. Los Angeles, CA: Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2010. DVD.