There is a large wall in a highly visible location in my neighborhood of Mexico City, with a frequently changing mural. The building is called La Casa Picnic and it would be ideal for posting about regularly, precisely for all these reasons. In fact, I have shared more than one painting on this large and well chose mural surface here, here, and also here. Unfortunately, as you can see, there is an obvious sponsor behind these images. So no matter how cool the art looks, I always feel that by sharing it I am inadvertently filling someone else's pockets with money, while I didn't see a cent of it.
Sometimes it Just Looks Too Good to Pass up
And that is the case with the current image adorning this wall. It is Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor between 1519 and 1558, after whom a Mexican chocolate was named. (And yes, you've probably guessed quite correctly already, it's the chocolate we're dealing with here.) Though admittedly, the candy company has been bought by a huge multinational food corporation from Switzerland...
A Brand New Branding
Mexican kids have grown up with Carlos V as a friendly and youthful monarch smiling at them from the wrapper of their chocolate bar. In school they may have learned about him being a famous Habsburg emperor, who in Spain was king Carlos I, with the empire where the sun allegedly never sets, thanks to the conquests of New Spain and South America. Though in real life he seemed to be somewhat less handsome than his cartoon version.
As it is the case with most famous brands, at one point its looks get outdated, and a fresh new image is needed. This is what has recently happened to Carlos V chocolate, so the old young king has been replaced by a new, though not much younger king. It's merely his hair color that has gotten slightly darker.
Is this much of an improvement?
A valid question, which the artist of the mural seemed to have been wondering too, since his take on the 16th century monarch is a much more modern one. Equipped with a septum ring, a skateboard, and a hoodie, this version of Charles V is clearly someone a contemporary kid can identify with. His crown is merely a design feature on his beanie, as his royalty is probably expressed in other forms. The muralist, by the way, can be identified as Trasheer, who seems to paint many more interesting things than just candy advertisement.
Join the Weekly Challenge
This post is my entry for this week's CCC's Street Art Contest, where you can see awesome murals from around the world each week, and if you post them yourself, you may even win something! Also, please visit my huge collection of Mexican Murals to see more street art I have found in Mexico.