In the middle of the Colonia Condesa in Mexico City there is an oval-shaped park. Known as the Parque México, it used to be the site of the horse-racing rink, before it was turned into a residential neighborhood close to a century ago. Today it is known for its upper-middle class residential buildings, many of them in beautiful art nouveau style, and the numerous bars and restaurants, making the Condesa one of the party centers of Mexico City. In the heart of the Condesa, the Parque México has been remodeled various times recently, addressing the necessities of the area, specifically the many party people with full bladders...
A Public Restroom
It is always nice to see proper facilities in public places, where people can relieve themselves for only five pesos. And on the inside this restroom is just that. Nothing more, nothing less. On the outside, however, one can't help but look... and look again at the impressive mural adorning its front facade.
Cuāuhocēlōtl - Jaguar and Eagle Warriors
The two characters in the wall painting are wearing the ceremonial headdresses of the two elite orders of the Aztec warriors: the Eagle and the Jaguar warrior societies. Its name cuāuhocēlōtl combines the words cuāuhtli for eagle and ocēlōtl for jaguar. Both orders required special boldness and fortitude of their members to become part of, as well as having captured at least twenty enemy prisoners. At the same time these orders enabled commoners to rise up into the levels of nobility.
Being a military order, it would have been extremely uncommon to see a woman wearing the headdress of a Jaguar Warrior. Since this is a public bathroom, however, which even in the hip and progressive Condesa is still binary, it is not entirely inappropriate to have a female face on the side of the ladies room.
Chris Dyer's Bright Colors
Between the images of the two warriors, the artist left an inscription above the door. It reads Peace to the warriors of the spirit. Next to it his dedication says with love to Mexico from Chris Dyer 2016. Looking up his name, I found out that he is a Canadian muralist from Montreal, who seems to be fairly successful. His site Positive Creations is just shining with the brightest colors, just like this piece on the restroom wall. Take a look at his projects, and when you're enjoying a night out in the Condesa, you may be glad to know about the facilities behind this mural.
If you liked this, check out my developing series on Mexican murals:
- Laboratory Work on the Cocoa
- High Above the City
- Feminist Mural on a Blue-Collar Business
- Not Much New in Almost a Year
- Commercial Murals for Small Businesses
- A Mural for a Movie
- Get to Know Your Local Cacti
- New Images Covering Old Ones
- A Warrior Princess in Mazunte
- A Cartoon with a Public Health Message
- Murals Under Periferico
- Murals of the Barrio in Aguascalientes
- Respected and Less Respected Paintings
- Under Metro Line 4
- ChaliaKiller's – Murals, Chilaquiles, and Lots More
- A Familiar Face
- Political Expression: the Painting is on the Wall
- Different Types of Wall Paintings
- The Beauty of Death and the Struggle of Life
- Winston Churchill and the Bike Movement
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#ecotrain | What is EcoTrain | Discord Community
#cyclefeed | Introducing CycleFeed | Discord Community
