TRENTON ELY

Leo Tanguma is the man behind the DIA murals. The self-made artist was born and raised in a small Texas town called Beeville, between San Antonio and Corpus Christi (Franco 1). He was born into a religious Mexican family that made their living farming cotton and other crops (1). Beeville was widely comprised of Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, and at the time there was no shortage of racial tension (1). Leo Tanguma describes this tension, “Whites were very—they assumed the kind of superior attitude towards us. And so, I grew up with those kinds of influences on me. (1). This conflict influenced Leo greatly. In fact, his first mural ever was of him and his friends killing the local sheriff on a school blackboard (1). Sick of being in Beeville, seventeen-year-old Leo left for Houston in search of better work (“Leo Tanguma Interview 1). Being dissatisfied with what he had found, he falsified his birthday and joined the marine corps. He was quickly discharged when they found out he was not of age (1). Leo had to work low-paying jobs until he finally reached the age to join the army (1). It was in the army that the Leo we know today really began to take shape. He took it upon himself to learn German and soon had many opportunities,  “I got to paint five murals, about seven feet by nine feet. So that was an experience, unforgettable, for me. I didn’t think I could paint anything so large and then they came out pretty good actually” (1)

 Leo Tanguma is a very stubborn artist who won’t let anything get in the way of letting him express his ideas. When he paints murals, he shows his stubbornness through the struggles he has faced. One of his earlier, and arguably more significant pieces was a 240-foot mural on the side of a factory in Houston (Franco 1). The piece, titled The Rebirth of our Nationality, was almost a block long and is dedicated to the Chicano people (1). In the middle of the mural is a flower, and from the flower extends the hands of a Chicano male and female to either side. Leo describes his intent, “They are reaching to accept the examples of our history, and the struggle, and the culture, all the beautiful things of our culture.” (“Leo Tanguma Interview” 1). This mural was completed in the midst of the Chicano movement, so naturally there were people who did not like it. Leo talks about this distaste, “I did that mural and that took about a year and a half with no funds whatsoever. In those days people thought I was very radical, in Houston, and I could not get funds because I became well known, and spoke against the establishment, racism, American imperialism” (1). These were all topics that were not taken lightly at the time. He was able to finish the mural by getting small donations or sums of money (1). He was seen as radical, but he was too stubborn to let that stop him from communicating his thoughts and beliefs through his artwork.

Leo Tanguma is a passionate artist who cares about the social issues that he has witnessed. Growing up in Beeville, Leo witnessed a lot of racial transgressions. In fact, three of his cousins were killed by the local sheriff, hence one of the reasons Leo disliked him so much; “Mexican Americans lived mainly in agriculture in most of those places, but we experienced police brutality quite a bit also.” (Franco 1). Growing up with these influences had a great effect on Leo, especially the police brutality he experienced. Shortly after painting The Rebirth of our Nationality, he started a piece on police brutality (1). It was a dynamic structure as he calls it, almost the same size as The Rebirth of our Nationality (1). Sadly, this piece was not received well, and someone stole it (1). In addition to his political murals, he has created structures and paintings depicting gang violence, and a mural about education for a high school, “Even the murals I did with high school students and the mural on the environment were very political because I see the world that way, but they were very accepted” (“Leo Tanguma Interview” 1). Despite the obstacles thrown at him, Leo kept going because he was passionate about his work and the messages he was conveying.

Leo Tanguma is a passionate and stubborn artist who first found his skill while drawing an image of himself and his childhood friends killing the local sheriff. He is a hardworking man who doesn’t let anything stop him from doing what he loves. He is a family man who has a wife and children. Unfortunately, his wife passed away. Leo and his sons moved to Denver which is where he took on many more projects, such as the infamous Denver International Airport murals.