Upon entering the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse, 500 E San Antonio Ave., guests are greeted by several art works that represent the city’s culture. The biggest mural at the courthouse is “Our History” painted by Carlos Callejo, which hugs the walls of the atrium walls.
The 5,000 square-feet mural was finished in 1995 and is on the third floor of the courthouse.
The mural recounts the history of El Paso, with over 50 different historical figures included. From the San Elizario Salt War to the Mexican Revolution, the intricate mural serving as a reminder to guests about the important history and culture of El Paso.
New life is being breathed into the 20-year-old mural, adapting to the digital age. Last month, Callejo’s mural found a new embodiment on guest’s cell phones. In collaboration with Augment El Paso, Callejo’s mural has found a new layer of depth by allowing guests to scan a QR code, and find his drawings come to life with animation, as well as give more information about the history, in both English and Spanish, knitted within the painting.
Augment El Paso’s founder, David Figueroa has converted several artworks around the city into the Augmented Reality (AR), including “Our History”. He said he noticed El Paso’s lack of AR several years ago and decided to take his hand at it.
“A lot of times you see augmented reality used for promotion and advertising, but I really did not want to go in that direction, I wanted to (go for) more education and entertainment,” Figueroa said.
“For the ‘Our History’ mural, I wanted to get (Callejo’s) message across and do his work justice and make it interesting enough for people to really take the time to look at all the details he put into the mural.”
For eight months, Figueroa took pictures with his camera to be able to weave all the details of the mural together. He said there are about 117 characters/figures that are animated on the website.
El Paso County’s Heritage Tourism Coordinator, Cynthia Renteria said the combination of the mural and augment reality experience is like “taking a walk-through history.”
“It was really wonderful to for me as someone who worked on this project to hear from (Callejo), it was wonderful to not only celebrate his art but add a feature that hopefully makes our society that is so obsessed with our phones engage with the mural again,” Renteria said.
Callejo’s mural is one of many in El Paso that are a tribute to the Mexican Muralist Movement. Callejo’s love for art only grew as he continued throughout the different eras of society such as the Civil Rights Movement, and the Chicano Movement.
“I am happy that (the mural is) transforming into the digital age,” said Callejo. “After the artist does the public art, you cut the umbilical cord, and that art piece takes a life of its own, it becomes a part of the community.”
With a new generation comes the need to adapt older work to tailor to new technologies.
Sofia Sierra is the sports editor and may be reached at [email protected].
