Mexican Murals - Axolotl in the Parque Lira

Walking my dog this morning, I decided to check out the Parque Lira again. Since this park is close to my house we used to come here often... until I decided to find better places, as my greedy dog would always find something to snack on. Thrown away food was not even the most horrible of the things she considers tasty...! But today I thought I'd give it another shot.

New Murals Everywhere You Look

I think I may have mentioned somewhere that in recent weeks I've seen new murals popping up virtually everywhere. It's kinda neat! The Parque Lira is no exception. On the large front wall of the library located here is a huge image of Tlaloc the God of Water, and Octopus, and a Bird.

Granted, the nose and mustache of the face are not exactly the classical depiction of the prehispanic rain deity, but the round eyes are a distinct characteristic. The bird and the octopus complete the very skillfully painted picture. Between the feathers and tentacles there are even some green leaves added, making the whole mural quite lovely to behold. What I also enjoy a lot, are the dark gray patterns on the black background. But there is more:

The Axolotl, Mexico's Favorite Amphibian

Just to the right of this amazing painting is another great mural, painted on a long horizontal surface. It shows what looks to be an axolotl, also known as a Mexican walking fish, swimming among flowers, air bubbles, and aquatic plants. Needless to say, being an amphibian the axolotl is far from being a fish, however one of the interesting facts about this species is that it never goes through metamorphosis, keeping its gills all throughout its life.

Another curious characteristic of this creature is that if it loses a limb it grows right back. This may have been what inspired the artist to painting the animal on this mural in slices... at least to me it looks like it was sliced up into rings. This regenerative ability of the axolotl makes it valuable for medical research. Maybe one day we can copy this useful trait? Unfortunately the species is considered critically endangered due to loss of habitat, as a result of urbanization of the Valley of Mexico.

About the Artists:

Sure enough, the artist of the first mural did leave his tag. What does it say? Hidon? Nidon? Jidon? In either case the search did not provide any results whatsoever. :-(

As for the second one, there remains no doubt that the painting can be attributed to Mexican artist Rovoe who likes to be inspired by images of nature. Oh, the difference a legible tag can make! Not that the first one doesn't look cool or anything, but for me it's creator will remain another mystery artist.