The 53 migrants who died in the deadliest human smuggling tragedy in recent memory in South Texas are being honored with a bright mural illustrating their journey.
The new mural, titled “Sacrificios,” is at Mission County Park on San Antonio’s South Side, about 15 minutes away from where the migrants were found on June 27, 2022, after being trapped in sweltering heat in a tractor-trailer along an abandoned, pothole-filled stretch of Quintana Road.
The mural is personal for the three South Side artists who had completed four hours of work on the mural on Friday: Mauro De la Tierra, a first generation Mexican-American painter, sculptor and illustrator; Andrea V. Rivas, an Honduran American muralist, illustrator and painter; and Adrian De La Cruz, lead artist, muralist, painter and fine art curator for Luminaria.
“This is an opportunity to honor the 53 migrants that perished in the country’s deadliest human smuggling incident,” said Yadhira Lozano, executive director of Luminaria, the art nonprofit known for its annual Contemporary Arts Fest. “This happened here in our neighborhood.”
Lozano said Rivas’ parents emigrated from Honduras. The first college graduate of her family, Rivas’ work is influenced by Latine culture and by the struggle to stay connected to her roots.
Lozano said the mural team’s technical skills and the “vested interest in the subject matter” will address the history of the migrants in a “meaningful, inspiring and deeply personal way.”
The mural, which cost $40,000 and was funded by Bexar County, was completed on Tuesday.
In the mural, monarch butterflies hover above migrant families wearing backpacks that have the Mexican, Honduran and Guatemalan flags painted on them, symbolizing where the victims were from. They’re shown crossing the Rio Grande into the United States. Above them, the sun sets as families walk on to the other side of the river.
“The monarchs represent how immigration is a natural process in nature. It’s a metaphor and a symbol for hope and beauty,” De la Tierra said.
Bexar County Commissioner (Pct. 1) Rebeca Clay-Flores commissioned the mural to honor the migrants and to support local artists, she said Friday.
“I wanted to make sure that we as a community did something,” she said. “It’s important to have a memorial in their memory so that we don’t forget and that we realize we have a responsibility.”
Since 2022, community members have planted 53 wooden crosses painted white along the stretch where the migrants were found, but plans for a permanent memorial are being led by District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia’s office.
The mural was placed at the county park on the South Side because it’s a central gathering place known mostly for celebrations and community, Clay-Flores said. Except for visitors to the memorial at the site of the tragedy itself, hardly anyone passes through the area other than residents who live near the street in unincorporated San Antonio.
“They come here for the hope of a better future,” Clay-Flores said about migrants, including the ones she’s interacted with at the San Antonio Migrant Resource Center on San Pedro Avenue. “We wanted to acknowledge that journey, but we also wanted to point people to the hope of a better future to remind us that we have a responsibility.”
The future memorial on the site will be made up of 53 individual markers, stating each person’s name, age and country of origin, Rocha Garcia said on Friday. She estimated that it would cost more than $25,000, but funding and a timeline have yet to be established. The city’s goal is to have it up by the second anniversary of the deaths in June, she added.
Of the 53 victims who died seeking work and security in the United States, 21 were from Guatemala, 26 were from Mexico, and six were from Honduras. The youngest victim was 13-year-old Pascual Melvin Guachiac Sipac.
“This is about pointing us to hope in a better future, so we as a community need to continue to advocate,” Clay-Flores said. “These are the things that aren’t going to let us forget.”
