Cover Photo Caption: Norma Chairez-Hartell and Jerry Wallace stand in front of a mural by Tony Pennock in the public garden on Panlener Street. (Photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
From the sides of buildings to bus stops and electrical boxes, murals adorn the streets of the Borderlands. Ten years ago, New Mexico State University alumna Norma Chairez-Hartell ’10 ’16 began a mission to document these murals and their stories. Today, the Murales Fronterizos project has catalogued over 750 murals across Las Cruces and El Paso.
“Once you start looking at murals, you can’t stop,” Chairez-Hartell said. “You start seeing what’s important to people. There’s a lot of value in people’s identity, and how they see themselves in the murals.”
Upper Left: “All Between Land and Air” depicts a woman with flowing hair surrounded by hummingbirds and plants. The mural was created by “The people of Las Cruces and Nanichcon, Jaycee Beyale, Warren Moytoya, Patience Sabaque, Shawna Dayish, Randy “Saba” Q, Jose Coronado and Elisabeth Stone in 2015. (Photo by Josh Bachman); Lower Left: This mural, painted by Tony Pennock, sits in a community garden behind the United Methodist Church on Panlener Street in Las Cruces. (Photo by Sarah Kimmerly); Right: “All Between Land and Air” depicts a woman with flowing hair surrounded by hummingbirds and plants. The mural was created by “The people of Las Cruces and Nanichcon, Jaycee Beyale, Warren Moytoya, Patience Sabaque, Shawna Dayish, Randy “Saba” Q, Jose Coronado and Elisabeth Stone in 2015. (Photo by Josh Bachman)…