Heritage

Themes: nature, flowers, birds, indigenous

“Heritage” is a mural created by the artist SENKOE, a Mexico City native, that portrays Xōchipilli, the Aztec god of love, summer, flowers, dancing, and festivities.

Using spray cans and paint as the medium, the depiction of the Aztec god hopes towering over Pilsen hopes to ignite a rediscovery for ancient Aztec stories and their role in defining what it means to be Mexican. Xōchipilli watches over the children that gather to play in Harrison Park in Pilsen and not longer is just the parents looking out for their children. Because of how close in proximity this mural is to the park, SENKOE chose to portray the Aztec god in his youth to allow the children to relate to the work and its history more.

The mural is filled with vibrant flowers surrounding the figure and bright colors like fuschia, teals, orange, and red. Also in the painting, the artist uses hummingbirds as an ancient reference to the messengers of Mexican culture and other Aztec gods. Xōchipilli is peacefully seated amongst mushroom-like plants taking in the scene that it is watching over. All of these references and details are in reference to the typical features of Mexican art and culture. The use of this features is done in hope of reminding the people of their roots, what their Mexican culture means, and its relation to the places they visit frequently, away from their homeland.

This description was written by Lulu Romero, Notre Dame Class of 2024.