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Mural celebrates Latino culture
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The fourth floor of the Education building at Boise State University houses a new piece of artwork. On the wall hangs a mural painted by Alma Gomez, an adjunct professor of the Art Department at BSU. The mural was created to depict Latinos and education, and to symbolize the significance of bilingual education at BSU. Bilingual Education Chair Claudia Peralta Nash chose Gomez because of her previous artwork specializing in Latino culture.
“The mural is a celebration of the triumph of the human spirit in each of the individuals depicted,” Alma Gomez said. “It was Claudia Peralta Nash of the College of Education who got this whole thing started, and I thank her for that. They wanted something different. They wanted the mural to depict the Latino community.” The mural hangs eight feet by 21 feet, and was produced in Gomez’s home. “I nailed it on the wall from March through August working on it consistently in March through June. After that, I had it an additional two months to do some final work on it,” Gomez said.Depicted at the center of the mural is world-renowned Chicana activist, writer, and scholar Gloria Anzaldna. Children surround Anzaldna to represent the future. All things represented in the mural have symbolic meaning and are purposeful. Monarch butterflies throughout the mural symbolize the Latinos’ journey from their country of origin to the United States.Included in the mural is former BSU College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) students Isabel Aguilar, Perla Mendivil Abad and Juan Morales. These students have all been inspirational to Gomez because of “the way they’ve been served by the program,” Gomez said. “Their commitment to succeed at Boise State is inspiring.”Other individuals that gather around Anzaldna in the mural include aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, physician Antonia Novello, political activists Cesar Chavez and Maria Gonzalez-Mabbutt, astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Judge Sergio Guiterrez, poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda, poet and scholar Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz and artist Frida Kahlo. Gomez chose to include each significant person because of the important contributions each make to society through their work and passion.Nash said she wanted to “bring a reflection of what we do on the fourth floor.” The mural was commissioned by several organizations, which included the Dean of College of Education, the Bilingual Department and the Educational Technology Department. Gomez said inspiration for the mural began with education. It represents students who want to be teachers, Gomez said. Included in the mural is Boise State student Juan Morales. “I met Alma last year, and she has been an amazing role model in my life. When she asked me to be in the mural, I was honored,” Morales said.Morales is a sophomore student originally from Guanajuato, Mexico.
“My family moved to the Idaho Falls area from California because they liked Wyoming and wanted to give us a good opportunity to be educated,” Morales said. He is currently studying international business and political science at BSU.
Morales said education has been a wonderful dream and he is thrilled to attend Boise State.
“I’m one of those examples of someone who has a passion to want to give back with working hard with education,” Morales said.
Gomez chose to feature Morales in the mural because of his representation of hard work, dedication and passion for learning.
“We want to highlight the importance of a multi-racial society, and the triumph of education,” Nash said.
A reception was held in honor of the recent addition to the Education building on Aug. 29.
“We had a good turn out. President Kustra was there which was nice, and a lot of students showed up,” Gomez said.
The newly added mural is not the first piece of artwork for Gomez. She has also painted another mural at the Hispanic Cultural Center in Nampa.
“As always, the intent of my work is to communicate and create awareness. I hope that those who view the mural will gain some understanding of how Latinos are contributing to our communities,” Gomez said.
Jessica Christensen
News Writer
