We're past the 100th Street Art Contest, and the weekly challenge has grown to having ... more contestants that I'm willing to count. These participants keep submitting the most incredible examples of street art, which in most cases mean murals. For that reason I have decided to post a wall image of a different kind: It's an extensive mosaic, made up of numerous tiny pieces of painted rocks, which together add up to a vast picture. Its location is the Mexican town of Taxco I got to visit two weeks ago.
Cuauhtémoc and Vicente Guerrero
According to the lettering on top of the mural, the image is dedicated to "our king and lord Cuauhtémoc" who was the last Tlatoani of the Méxica empire during the Spanish conquest. For that reason, it can be assumed that the figure in the center is Cuauhtémoc himself. However, there is another historical figure in this mosaic, who is of particular importance in this region: Vicente Guerrero, one of the founding fathers of the independent nation of Mexico, who the state was named after where Taxco is located.
Rabbit in the Moon, and Lots of Other Symbols
Apart from these two historical personages, there are numerous other characters, animals, and various symbols of Mexican imagery throughout the mosaic. The ubiquitous eagle is right there in the center background, as well as a jaguar, a heron, and feathered serpents at the bottom. The people in the image are made up of indigenous cultures and modern peasants and workers. What I find most exciting, however, is the rabbit in the moon! According to Mexican tradition, the lunar surface looks more like a rabbit than the face of a "man in the moon". And after looking it it for a while, I must agree: by now when I look at it, all I see is a small creature with two long ears.