Mexican Murals - A Poetic Message About Tremmors

As it turns out, the Roma neighborhood is full of interesting murals. Some are pretty, some are scary, and some are outright cryptic. The one I want to present today certainly falls into this latter group. If you want to visit it, it can be found on Querétaro street, between Jalapa and Orizaba.

At first it was the painting of the old lady that caught my eye. Was she beckoning me with her finger, or was she just simply rubbing her chin in deep thought? In any case, I had to admire the beautiful pattern of ethnic embroidery painted on the wall behind her.

But then I saw the parable next to her, which I've been puzzling about ever since. Framed by two kids, one dressed in the traditional garb of a Mexican peasant: a white shirt and a red scarf, the other one wearing something even more ancient: a prehispanic Jaguar's mask. On the wall between them, a brief story was written in fancy letters. Reading I could make some sense of it, though there remained a number of questions unanswered. So for your sake, I translated it as accurately as I understood:

A child stopped
-Why is the earth shaking?
-The calm makes it vibrate.
-Does peace scare it?
-You should stop completely and you will feel it.
Shortly after the child started to wiggle.
-What happened to you?
-I think I stopped the tremor.

Okay, I'm not even going to ask questions, let alone trying to explain it. Since it's a parable, the various elements (the earth, the child, the movement, etc.) are supposed to symbolize something. As for what, I'll leave it up to each one to make their own interpretations.

The VA POR LA ROMA sign shows that this picture is one of a series of murals on the walls of this neighborhood. This one was painted in 2017 by the artist Saner, whose work is truly worth checking out. In the short clip on his webpage you can see how he combines prehispanic elements with modern themes. Discovering him by making this post, is something I consider way more important than deciphering this cryptic message. Though I'd be curious what interpretations others may come up with. If you think it's too obvious not to see, please drop me a comment!