Posts Tagged ‘Lalo Cota’

Nomojoe and Tequilya

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

NoMoJoe and Tequilya. If you live in the Phoenix area, you know what that means and who these calaveras represent.

This mural on Roosevelt Row is by Lalo Cota, who I wrote about~again~a few days ago and his sometime collaborator, Thomas Breeze Marcus. I’ve photographed this building in the alley of the 400 block of East Roosevelt between Eye Lounge and Modified Arts before. This is what it looked like a year ago:

You can see that some of the roses and part of the background remain the same.

Over to the left, under the billboard, this is the mural on the side of Eye Lounge this month.

This mural changes every First Friday (except in the summer) and is always done by Joe Pagac, who you can watch paint amidst the crowds. This is what it looked like about a year ago:

And below is what it looked like about 6 months ago. This performance wall is commissioned by Stateside Presents, a concert and event promoter. So it’s a good gig for Joe Pagac.

Check it out this coming First Friday and see what changes are in store…

Mas Calaveras

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

The other day as we were driving over to see the Valley of the Sunflowers field, my companion said, “There’s a new mural.” I knew right away that it was done by Lalo Cota since it features his unmistakable calaveras which I have blogged about before. Here’s a collage I did last year featuring several of them, scattered about the Downtown Phoenix area.

Sometimes Lalo collaborates with Thomas Breeze and/or Pablo Luna. I was excited to see a new one on the front of Tacos de Juarez (authentic Mexican food at 1017 N. 7th Street) and I know there are a couple more around town, too, that I will blog about soon. It’s great to be photographing a few more murals again and we’re coming up on the best time of year to be walking around colorful Downtown Phoenix with a camera.

I didn’t see any signatures so I’m not sure if he did the rooster, too.

Stay tuned for some new and updated murals…

Concentration (Matching Murals Downtown)

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Now that I’m becoming an “old pro” at mural-hunting, it’s a little like the old Concentration game. I keep coming across muralists whose work I’ve seen before and recognize either by the style or by their signature. Where was the other one(s) by this person?

This one, in the heart of the Roosevelt Row arts district (at Pravus Gallery, 501 E. Roosevelt Street), was done by “Elmac Kofie.” See the signature on the upper left above. I know I’ve seen that name before (actually this mural is a collaboration by Elmac and his friend, Kofie). Elmac is very prolific and has painted murals all over the world. You can see more of his work on his blog.

Oh, yeah, I saw it a mile or two away a couple of weeks ago in another section of the arts district at 1105 Grand Avenue. And now that I look at both of them, they look very similar to one I saw at Zao Gallery/Universal Hair Salon (925 Grand Avenue) recently.

Yes, down there on the left side, amidst her hair, is “Elmac.” The signature is a little different but the style is the same. This was a couple blocks away from the one above it. And back to the one above it:

Next to the Elmac mural is one by Lalo Cota, who I wrote about in my Calaveras post, including this one by him above. Murals at three different locations were shown in that post and now here is another one by Lalo, distinct in its style:

This van is outside Conspire, a coffeehouse/artist-run shop, at 901 N. 5th Street. The walls of Conspire have more murals by Lalo.

It’s pretty fun getting accustomed to their styles and coming across them all over downtown Phoenix. Every time I go out to photograph a mural, I seem to see or hear about some other ones. This project could go on for a long time. Hopefully, you will go out and see them in person and let me know of others that you have seen Downtown in the Comments section.

Calaveras

Friday, August 27th, 2010

I love Day of the Dead art, the calaveras (skulls) associated with the primarily Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos. Some people (usually non-Mexicans) find it creepy, depressing, or just strange but, like the holiday, that is not the intention. The holiday occurs on Nov. 2, in conjunction with the Catholic observances of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 1 and 2). It is a day to remember friends and family who have died but it is a time of celebration, where partying is common.

Because of Phoenix’s  large Mexican-American population, celebrations of this holiday are common and, more and more, so are displays of the art, year-round. The above mural is in the Downtown arts district at 1105 Grand Avenue. It is by Lalo Cota, a Phoenix artist born in Mexico.

Several blocks away, on Roosevelt Row, is this new mural, on the side of Carly’s Bistro at 128 E. Roosevelt Street. Lalo painted this one with his collaborators, Pablo Luna and Thomas Marcus (aka Breeze).

These are such fun murals. About two blocks down the street, in the alley between eye lounge (419 E. Roosevelt Street) and Modified Arts (407 East Roosevelt Street), there are more Lalo Cota murals.

The sun was shining so brightly during this late afternoon that there is a glow on the mural but maybe that is appropriate.

There is another Lalo Cota mural around the corner at Conspire (901 N. 5th Street) but it was extremely hot that afternoon so I decided to leave it for another day…and another post. Check these murals out next time you’re in the area and get a little of that Day of the Dead feeling.