Geocoding the Murals of El Paso, Texas: an Analysis by Addresses and Zip Codes

Geocoding the Murals of El Paso, Texas: An Analysis by Addresses and Zip Codes

Sociology 3332/Anthropology 3332 Intro to GIS Project (Graduate student) Final Report

Miguel Juárez May 4, 2011

Introduction

The book Colors on Desert Walls: the Murals of El Paso1 (1997, Texas Western Press) features over 200 murals that range from works painted under the Works-Progress

Administration (MPA) in 1938 to Chicano murals painted under the Spaghetti Bowl in

2010. Even today murals are being painted on walls in El Paso. In retrospect, when Colors was published in 1997, Texas Western Press did not see a need to include maps in the book. This, I believe is one of the book’s deficiencies. At the time I did not know whether the TWP had the capacity to create maps or if I as the author, was supposed to provide them—regardless, the topic was not discussed. Another deficiency of the book was that the TWP wanted to produce a coffee table-like book of images of the murals, whereas I wanted to write a social history of murals and mural-making in El Paso. I created several drafts and all met with dislike from the Marcia Daudistel, the acquiring editor at the time who asked me to trim it down and revise it several times. In the end, as a compromise, I decided to interview the artists who had painted the murals and to publish their oral histories and that would comprise the text accompanied by images of the murals created by

Cynthia Farah, who was my co-researcher in the creation of this work. I interviewed and transcribed the artists featured in the book and Cindy provided the images.

Geo-coding Murals

Before beginning the project I searched for other projects that may had done something similar but I did not find anything related to what I sought to do for this project.

I did locate an article on the Internet titled: “Philly Chooses GIS to Showcase and Manage its

1 Miguel Juárez, Colors on Desert Walls, the Murals of El Paso (Texas Western Press, 1997). 2 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Muralfarm.org, http://muralarts.org/muralfarm. Accessed May 4, 2011. 2

Thousands of Murals,” published on 1/7/2009 that documented the City of Philadelphia’s efforts to geocode its murals. The article described a site titled:

“Muralfarm.org, an interactive geographic online web application, pictures and detailed information about murals [that] can be searched by artist, theme, date, location, neighborhood, and other key terms. Visitors to Muralfarm.org can tag favorite photographs, save searches, be notified when new murals are added thanks to GeoRSS feeds, and enjoy special features such as viewing the murals in Google Earth and Google Maps. Mural Arts Program staff can easily and efficiently manage information pertaining to each mural through a sophisticated asset management back-end interface. The new site, www.muralfarm.org, will officially launch on January 29, 2009.”2

For the graduate project in the Sociology 3332/Anthropology 3332 class

Introduction to GIS class I chose to geo-code murals in El Paso featured in the Colors on

Desert Walls book that had addresses where murals had been painted. For murals that had addresses I added their zip codes by looking up the addresses in various Zip Code search engines like the UPS Zip Code finder.3 I added these Zip Codes to the Excel file that coupled with the addresses produced the data to produce this project.

It is important to note that not all locations where murals had been painted had addresses. I did embark on locating addresses for various murals using Google Earth, as well as the Internet, but at a certain point this proved to be too laborious, so I limited the number of murals to 200 and included the murals that I felt were important to include.

Initially, I created a spreadsheet with various attributes but again after entering data for several days, I chose to capture the data I felt most important like Title, Address, Year

Painted, and Creator along with pertinent attributes when possible. Among the different techniques like using x-y coordinates, latitude and longitude, addresses with zip codes provide a means to geo-code, so this is what I utilized for this project.

2 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Muralfarm.org, http://muralarts.org/muralfarm. Accessed May 4, 2011. 3 UPS Zip Code Lookup, http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp, Accessed April 1, 2011.

Producing Mural Maps

I created eleven maps for the following areas in El Paso: (1) a map of murals in the

Upper Valley; (2) a mural map of Central El Paso; (3) a mural map of Downtown El Paso;

(4) a mural map of El Paso Community College murals at the Valle Verde Campus in East El

Paso; (5) a mural map of murals in East El Paso; (6) a mural map of murals at Lincoln

Center in South Central El Paso; (7) a mural map of murals in Northeast El Paso; (8) a mural map of works in Central El Paso; (9) a mural map of works in the Lower Valley; (10) a map of murals in Segundo Barrio and Chihuahuita; and lastly (11) a map of various areas in El Paso with murals.

I found difficulty in separating clusters of murals that shared one address and one zip code. There are three clusters of murals in this study that separately share singular addresses: (1) eight murals at the University of Texas all share one address—due to the fact that all buildings share the same university address; (2) forty-three murals at Lincoln

Park that are painted on the various columns under what is informally referred to as the

Spaghetti Bowl. With the creation of the various freeways spanning the Lincoln Park

Community, historical addresses were obliterated and basically all murals now share one address. Another cluster of murals is located at (3) the El Paso Community College Valle

Verde Campus and again, all buildings, like the ones at UT El Paso have one address.

In the creation of preliminary maps, I tried to include too much information on the various maps and then Dr. Collins suggested I create an Appendix so I could list the murals by location instead--I have done so (see Appendix A).

I created one shape file and worked off of it because I found difficult creating separate files using the Open Attributes tool and combining different SQL data because all

4 fields were classified as numerical data. This proved to be effective but then I found that there needed to be consistency in creating the various maps. When I made an edit to improve one map I then had to go back and apply the same edit to all the other maps. In the middle of creating several maps, I found that the “Save As” function was easier than creating an entirely new map. I found it necessary to create a hand-drawn style sheet (like a flow sheet) to plan out how I was going to do the project and to have a place where I could note what fonts I was using for titles and various labels. This style sheet also gave me an overview of my progress and what needed fixing. I also noted the file name for each of the maps. The sheet helped me “visualize” the overall project and complete it.

Analysis “What I discovered”

The areas with the most murals include: (1) Segundo Barrio/Chihuihuita; (2)

Lincoln Park; and (3) Central El Paso. Unbeknownst to the general public, murals are found throughout the city. This was a very labor-intensive project and might have been too ambitious to undertake in one semester.

Conclusion

I found creating these maps was a very satisfying and exhilarating experience given that I was able to use my old data and in effect, by geo-coding it, make it “new” again. I see great possibilities of utilizing this technology for a myriad of uses—for history, for the analysis of information needs, for tracking population and demographic patterns, and for engaging in social-political issues.

I realize that this project could easily have risen to an entirely new level if it could have incorporated additional data, images and indexing, as well as assigning numeral codes to murals and describing each in detail. Or like the Philadelphia project mentioned in the beginning of this essay, this work can live online and work similar to a UCLA product called

Hypercities.4 A separate section could feature murals that have been painted over and no longer exist. Yet for this assignment none of this was warranted, although I can see how this project would be the ideal for the merger of community art, socio-political art history, urban history, politics, geo-coding (all areas I am very interested in) and with the analysis of those results and the addition of some theory on the built environment and socio- political factors in the creation of murals and mural making and it could easily become my dissertation.

4 Hypercities, http://hypercities.com/. Accessed May 4, 2011.

Appendix A

Map of El Paso Areas with Murals

Areas include:

• Upper Valley and West El Paso • The University of Texas at El Paso • Downtown El Paso • Segundo Barrio and Chihuahuita • Central El Paso • Northeast El Paso • Lincoln Park • East El Paso • El Paso Community College • Lower Valley

Central El Paso Murals

• “Stop the Killing” (1995) • “La Virgen de Guadalupe with Grotto” (1989) • “Meso-American Olmec” (1991) • “Vignettes depicting U.S./Mexico border life” (1935) • “Los Paisanos/Five Points Block Party” (1985) • “Portrait of Gene K. Wilson” (1994) • “Beall Elementary School cafeteria mural” (1987) • “Jesus Christ on Cross and Virgen of Guadalupe” (Date Unknown) • “Hispanic Heritage and Homelessness” (1991) • “Labors of Cotton” (1992) • “Untitled” (1993) • “La Virgen de Guadalupe con Juan Diego” • “Memorial to Ruben Salazar” • “Christ Looking Over El Paso/Cd. Juarez” • “Tribute to Enedina "Nina" Cordero” • “La Nina Cosmica” • “Bear Mascot”

• “Sports murals” • “Heroes of Mexico” • “La Familia” • “Senor Sol” • “Nuestra Herencia/Our Heritage” • “Aztec Ball Players” • “Iwo Jima” • “Mujer Obrera/Working Woman” • “75th Anniversary, 1915-1990” • “Emiliano Zapata” • “Aztlan”

Downtown Murals

• “Si Me Matan: Resucitare en mi Pueblo” (1993) • “Antidiscrimination in the Workplace” (1993) • “Leyenda de los Volcanes” (1981) • “Cuantos Hermanos Han Muerto” (1987) • “Untitled” (1987) • “Desert Scene” (Unknown) • “Dixieland” (1989) • “Downtown El Paso, Early 1900s” (1981) • “The History of Money” (1957) • “Netherlands Scene” (1952) • “Our History” (1995) • “A Day in El Paso Del Norte” (1993) • “Unite El Paso” (1993) • “Modes of Transportation” (1983) • “Diorama murals” (Unknown) • “Four Nudes and a Cartoon Character” (1996) • “Bicentennial Celebration” (1976) • “Boxer Mural” (Unknown) • “Pass of the North” (1938) • “Southwest” (1956) • “Two Bullfighters” (1985)

El Paso Community College, Valle Verde Campus, 919 Hunter Road, El Paso, Texas, 79915

• “Time and Sand” (1978) • “Visually Processed Data” (1988) • “African Spirit of Jazz” (Unknown) • “Together Then, Together Again” (1995) • “Loteria, La Sirena, La Calaca, La Palma, La Mano, El Aguacote” (1996)

• “Adam and Eve at the Rio Grande” (1985) • “Futuristic City” (1985)

Murals in East El Paso

• Class of 2000 • UTEP Athletics • Selva Tropical • Folklorico Dancers • Southwest Wildlife • German Traditions • Tribute to David L. Carrasco • Time and Sand

Lincoln Park Murals

• Tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Inside Lincoln Center • La Virgen de Guadalupe, 1F • Ruben Salazar, 1B • Cesar Chavez, 2F • Zapata "Tierra y Libertad,” 2B • Martin Luther King Jr., 3F • Comandanta Ramona, 3B • John F. Kennedy, 4F • Francisco "Pancho" Villa, 4B • Blank, 5F • Che Guevara, 5B • Nuestra Reina de El Paso Ombligo de Aztlan, 6F

• Mariachi Sol, 6B • Mariachi Luna, 7F • Music Under the Stars #1, 7B • Music Under the Stars #2, 9B • Music Under the Starts #3, 10F • Daylight, 12F • Open Your Eyes, 12B • The Struggle, 13F • Legends, 17F • Chuco Suave, 23F • Twin Serpents, 23B • 2012 A New Light, 24F • Pachuca Blood, 25F • El Corazon de El Paso, 28F • Festival San Elizario Mission, 28B • Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, 29F • El Chichihuacaahuco, 29B • Tletl (Fire), 30F • Tlalli (Earth), 30B • Ehecatl (Wind), 31F • Atl (Water), 31B • Maiz, 32F • Title Unknown, 32B • Native American, 33F • Blank, 33B • Aztec Sunstone, 34F • Space Shuttle "El Paso Through My Eyes", 34B • UTEP Campus "El Paso Through My Eyes," 35F • UTEP Campus "El Paso Through My Eyes," 35B • Faces "Faces Through My Eyes," 36F • Faces "Faces Through My Eyes," 36B • Eddie Guerrero "El Paso Through My Eyes," 37F • Latino Heat "El Paso Through My Eyes," 37B

Lower Valley Murals

• Southwestern Theme • El Santo Nino de Atocha • Guardian Angel • In Memory of Andrea Hensley, 1978-1993

• Mural de Senecu • Stages of Life • Tigua Pueblo, Ysleta Mission • The Coming of Rain • Image of Unity • La Virgen de Guadalupe with Ysleta Mission • Aztec Gods Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl • Sports mural • Conquistador

Segundo Barrio and Chihuahuita Murals

• “Easy Rider-In Memory to Nuni” (1985) • “Chuco, Tejas” (1975) • “History of the Santa Fe Railroad” (1992) • “Grandfather and his Nephew” (1969) • “Tribute to Joe Battle” or “Lagrimas” (1978) • “Meeting of the Presidents, Diaz and Taft” (1970) • “Cuauhtemoc” (1982) • “Quetzalcoatl” (1975) • “Native American” (1982) • “La Fe: Mantegan La Fe: Support It” (1994) • “We the People” (1988) • “Sacred Family” or “Tribute to the Chicano Family” (1990) • “Health and Technology” (1985) • “Conquistador with Friar” (1981) • “El Chuco/Cd. Juarez” (1993) • “Emiliano Zapata” (1975) • “Our Lady of Fatima” (1996) • “Tezcatlipoca” (1987) • “La Campana: History of Housing Struggle in Segundo” (1975) • “Kofu Gang mural” (1996) • “La Virgen de Guadalupe” (1987) • “Aztec Calendar” (1979) • “Entelequia/Entelechy” (1976) • “Iztaccihuatl. Mujer Blanca: Leyenda de los Volcanes” (1982) • “Che Guevara” (1975) • “Dale Gas/El Pachuco” (1981) • “Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl” (1981) • “Segundo Barrio” (1976) • “Education is the Future” (1982) • “La Virgen de Guadalupe” (1975)

• “Houchen Bus” (1982) • “Kids on the Moon” (1987) • “Three Faces representing Chicanos” (1975) • “Geometric Codex” (1975) • “Chicanos Unidos del 2nd” (1975) • “The Children First/Primero Los Ninos” (1994) • “Discover the Secrets of the Universe Through Your Library” (1994) • “Zavala Elementary School Mural” (1986)

Upper Valley and West El Paso Murals

• “Camino Real” (1996) • “Jesus Chris” (1986) • “Untitled” (1958) • “Grateful Dead (1991) • “My Toys” (1990) • “A Celebration of Women” (1994) • “Murals on the Mall #1” (1993) • “Murals on the Mall #2” (1993) • “El Paso Historical Scene” (1994) • “Old West Gunfighters” (1994) • “Untitled” (1995) • “Hands that Heal” (1993) • “Carpriccio Espagnol, Siglo XVI” (1967) • “Untitled” (1994) • “The Space Cowboy Without the Cowboy” (1975)

Murals at the University of Texas at El Paso

• "Coronado," by Salvador Lopez, Centennial Museum painted in 1945, restored in 1981 by Robert Massey. • "Miners Inside Mine," by Emilio Cahero, Centennial Museum, painted in 1936, under the Works Public Administration (WPA). • Two murals titled "Mining" and "Metallurg,y" by Emilio Cahero, at Holliday Hall, painted in 1936 were painted over in the 1960s. • "Pollution or Ecology," by Carlos R. Flores, Second Floor, Fox Fine Arts, painted in 1973, painted over in mid-1980s. • "Myths of Maturity," Library Second Floor, painted in 1991. • "Gang Violence," Education Building, Third Floor, painted in 1992. • "Encounter," (former Geology Building), painted in 1993. • "New Mexico Scenes," Education Building (1971) by Peter Hurd.

Maps