Walking into Ascarate Park’s Healing Garden, located at 6900 Delta Drive, is like stepping into the heart and soul of hope, faith, and comfort. The garden, which is meant to be a place of tranquility, commemorates the victims from the mass shooting that took place in El Paso on Aug. 3, 2019.
A new mural, located on the other side of the Healing Garden’s wall, will be revealed this year to honor the fifth anniversary of the shooting. The mural shows Mother Earth, her sunrise, and the essence of birth.
Painted alongside the mural is the garden of life, where a village of people grow and flourish in the garden. Towards the end is the Father of Time, with his sunset and moon that symbolize the cycle of life.
El Paso artists, Blanca Estrada, Albert “Tino” Ortega and Cesar Insotroza all put their hearts into this project in their own ways. Estrada coordinated community painting events at the mural site, where El Pasoans could honor the victims by painting rocks that will be displayed with the unveiling of the Healing Garden mural.
“The mural promotes healing, positivity, hope, growth and unity, it’s amazing to see that art has become so therapeutic and needed in our community,” Estrada said. “I think we’re still all healing together, but we have come so far.”
Estrada explains the importance of finding healing in art forums, especially during this time of year.
“I wanted the entire city to be involved because it’s the healing garden for everyone,” Estrada said. “I’m so happy that people are coming and painting the rocks, it’ll be a big part of the mural reveal. I really hope that the entire community sees the rocks and intakes that we’re opening our arms to everyone.”
El Paso resident, Lelia Gonzales, came to contribute to the mural, as she lost a coworker the day of Aug. 3.
“One of the victims was a former co-worker and his wife. Something I keep in mind is to live as much as possible because their lives were stopped short,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said painting the rocks brought her comfort because the El Paso community is gathering and showing their support.
“I love El Paso for doing this, we can come together again,” Gonzales said. “We can grow from that enormous tragedy that we all experienced.”
Another El Pasoan who came to paint rocks was Damaris, who said that people should experience the art channel to heal.
“I’ve never felt anything so hateful until that day but making our love so permanent in art is super important,” Damaris said. “(August 3) changed our mindset about our home, how we see the home we made, (so I) feel like doing this is turning it around and controlling the narrative. Now all I feel is peace and beauty.”
Furthermore, El Paso’s Family Resiliency Center (FRC) has shown up to promote conversions surrounding mental health to help overcome the hate crime that took place on Aug. 3
“(The mural) symbolizes everything that makes our community strong. It captures elements that not only make our city unique but have helped make the healing journey since August 3, 2019, possible, accessible and organic. For us, it’s a story of our community’s beautiful resilience,” FRC said.
The focus of the FRC is to help people in the city who were directly affected by the events of Aug. 3, as well as get rid of the shame that Hispanic men may feel talking about their mental health.
“El Paso has been successful in building awareness for the mental health needs in our community and the next step is creating more accessibility to all the local programs and services we have in our city,” FRC said. “We also have a lot more work to do in eliminating the stigma of asking for help, particularly for our Hispanic men. But we’re on the right path, and there are so many outstanding organizations that are providing resources and eager to help our community.”
What happened five years ago will never be forgotten, it’s a part of El Paso’s story. Yet, there is much more to be written. After the events on Aug. 3, hope drives the community to heal. The Healing Garden, and its new mural, allows for El Pasoans to delve into the hope of overcoming grief.
This year, different organizations will be holding events to honor the fifth anniversary of Aug. 3. Below, are a list of some events that are happening across town. To find out more information, and view more events, visit https://www.epstrong.org/august-3.php.
Dominique Macias is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected].
