Mural with a message

At a mural unveiling Thursday, Sept. 17, at Mesquite Art Gallery are, left to right, Carlos Melendres, curator of Murals With a Message; internationally acclaimed sculptor Cliff Fragua (1955- ) of Jemez Pueblo, creator of the Po’pay statue in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.; and Alex Mares, Southwest indigenous history expert.

The mural was painted by artist Esequiel “Zeke” Rubio based on Fragua’s sculpture honoring Po’pay (1630-88), a Tewa religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo in Rio Arriba County), who led the 1680 Pueblo Revolt against Spanish colonial rule. It was the first successful anticolonial revolt against a European colonial power in the Western Hemisphere.

Murals with a Message is an organization working to create 25 murals along Mesquite Street – part of the original Camino Real deTierra Adentro – in downtown Las Cruces, according to muralswithamessage.org. The Po’pay mural is located on the north-facing exterior wall of Mesquite Art Gallery, 340 N. Mesquite St., at the corner of Mesquite Street and Court Avenue. The gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and is also open 4-8 p.m. the first Friday of each month. Visit mesquiteartgallery.art.