Local urban artist El Norteño wins state award

December 17th, 2011 by Jill Holslin

“Lo que pretendemos en el Instituto Municipal de la Juventud y en el Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud, es tener ejemplos de vida y ver que la juventud no sea el problem de México, sino que sea la parte que va a superar los problemas de México,” explicó Juan Angel Estrada Cruz, Director de IMJUVENS.

Fashionista, painted in a colonia in east Tijuana

 

Delgadillo’s beautiful and moving murals speak for themselves. His love of portraiture and narrative come together in his art, generating lovely folkloric characters like the “Fashionista” (to the left),  the man who fixes sad faces (top photo), or the urban street dweller who guards over the house of abandoned dogs on 5th Street.  Alonso Delgadillo has painted fourteen murals in the city of Tijuana.

 

Traditional Mexican Caballero, painted in a colonia in eastern Tijuana

But even more than this, his work with university students at UABC-CITEC on art and community projects will leave yet another last legacy: The next generation of young leaders.

 

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Posted in Tijuana Urban Art | 2 comments

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  • Alimoghaddas89

    WOW! It is great to hear that city officials in Tijuana are beginning to see the true beauty of urban art and the distinction between graffiti and the latter is finally being recognized. Hopefully San Diegans can start to adopt this attitude and we can see some of that art down here. Great work Jill and looking forward to hearing more about this movement..

    -Ali

    • Jill Holslin

      Yes, there’s definitely a lot more vibrant and dynamic street art scene in Tijuana than in San Diego. Even permitted art in San Diego tends to be called into question, and unpermitted pieces, regardless of quality (like the recent Surfing Madonna in Encinitas), are toppled by rigid graffiti laws. On the other hand, Mexico has a long-standing tradition of mural art, and on the popular level, you see hand-painted signs and storefronts everywhere in the city as well. I think people appreciate the vernacular traditions more in Tijuana. But even so, people still fear gangs, and many automatically associate certain graffiti styles–like Wildstyle and other lettering styles–with gang activity.