The Healing Uvalde Mural Project can’t help but bring a tear to your eye, and, maybe, a smile to your face.
Nineteen young children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde were murdered on May 24, 2022, by a madman not yet old enough to buy a beer, but he could legally purchase a high-powered, semiautomatic weapon with armor-piercing ammunition.
Despite the circumstances for the murals, the artwork scattered on the walls around downtown shine with color and celebrate life. The portraits are part remembrance and part healing for the town and the families.
The idea for the 21 murals in Uvalde came from Abel Ortiz-Acosta, a resident and artist, along with community organizers Monica Maldonado and Dr. George Meza. Muralists from around the state were recruited to work with the families in the heat and rain of July and August 2022 to capture the individual personalities on the walls of the town’s buildings.
Tino Ortega, a muralist from El Paso, told an interviewer that at the last minute he incorporated a Capri Sun because the family said it was Jaliah Nicole Silguero’s favorite drink.
In addition to the 22 murals (a final one called Remember Their Names lists the victims), there are small ofrendas around a fountain in the shaded park across from the county courthouse. Each altar is decorated with the individual’s favorite things.
Each one of the murals is a permanent ofrenda to the special people these 21 people were. The paintings are decorated with Pokémon, unicorns, sports, kittens, butterflies, and smiles. A reminder that they were only children.
The Healing Uvalde Mural Project is a beautiful remembrance of a tragic event in Uvalde, about 1.5 hours west of San Antonio. The murals are easy to find in downtown. A guide to the addresses and information about the murals is found at www.austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
1,755th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in May 23 • 2025.
