Federico Archuleta

By Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

Federico Archuleta takes graffiti art to new heights in downtown El Paso. Soft drink giant Jarritos, in conjunction with “Amor por Juarez”, convinced Archuleta to scale a massive scaffold three stories high to compose a mural on the backside of the Sotoa building. Both groups wanted to communicate a message of unity between two countries and cities.

“I have never done a project this massive! I am familiar with larges spaces, but this palette towers in at 36 feet tall. It’s quite the test to work on scaffolding this high, plus, this isn’t a flat surface. Working with bricks can be tricky,” noted Archuleta.

The height added with the elements of 50 mile per hour winds, rain, and dust created a bit of a challenge Archuleta was able to effectively manipulate.

The Sotoa building is a three-story office complex located on 500 W. Overland Street. The backside, where the mural was placed, faces not only Ciudad Juarez, but also the heavy traffic of Paisano, near the Union Depot.

“It’s in a great spot to receive the visual recognition it needs,” Archuleta noted.

Luis Fernandez, Novamex, CEO, noted that, “Having this work of art on our building is a great reinforcement of the message of Amor Por Juarez and how tied to each other El Paso and Ciudad Juarez really are. It’s important that businesses in both communities help express these types of messages and this mural does just that.”

www.graffitiwestern.com

Photographed by Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek