Alba Rosa Amezcua Contreras & Adriana del Rocio Garcia Hernández attended Youth in Arts' Italian Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, CA on June 13 & 14. Both are from the Monterrey Mexico area, and each took first place in their category at Festival Bella Via in Monterrey to bring them to San Rafael.
Together Alba & Adriana created a beautiful street painting that is a reproduction of the original art 'Grandeza Azteca' by Mexican cultural icon Jesus Helguera. Here are some photos of the process of Alba & Adriana's street painting 'Grandeza Azteca' and the legend that goes with the image.
Adriana (left) and Alba (right) working on the faces in their street painting.
Adriana finishing up the details of the warrior's face.
Alba adds color to the woman figure.
Adriana & Alba work on feathers and fabric.
Alba works on the background while Adriana adds some tones to the warrior's arm.
The Legend of the Volcanoes Ixtaccihuatl and Popocatépetl
According to the legend, at the beginning of history, when the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Anahuac, before the mountains had reached their permanent form, a beautiful princess named Mixtli was born, in the city of Tenochtitlan. She was the daughter of Tizoc, the Tlatoani Emperor of the Mexicas. Mixtli was sought after by numerous noblemen, among them Axooxco, a cruel and bloodthirsty man, who demanded the hand of Mixtli in marriage. However, Mixtli's heart belonged instead to a humble peasant named Popoca. Popoca went into battle, to conquer the title of Caballero Aguila. If he claimed this title of nobility, Popoca would be able to fight Axooxco for the hand of Mixtli.
Mixtli knew the danger Popoca was in, and then, wrongly, heard that he was killed. But in fact, Popoca was returning victorious. Not realizing this, Mixtli killed herself, rather than live without Popoca. When Popoca returned to find Mixtli dead, he picked her up and carried her body into the mountains. Hoping that the cold snow would wake her from sleep, reuniting them alive, Popoca stayed at her feet, bent over, watching for her to come awake.
They have remained there ever since, and the body of Mixtli has become the volcano Ixtaccihuatl (the Sleeping Woman), the ever-watchful Popoca has become the volcano Popocatepetl (the Smoking Mountain), and Axooxco has become the Cerro Ajusco (the highpoint of the Distrito Federal). Ever since, these volcanoes have towered above the city of Mexico. The romantic legend of this couple has been passed on, ever since the Pre-Columbian era, and so now the people of Mexico know the origin of these magnificent volcanoes.
Alba (left) and Adriana (right) pose with their finished street painting 'Grandeza Azteca' at Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, CA.
They did a great job creating this beautiful street painting!