Diners and passersby at Vejigantes, 57 W. Dedham St., are now greeted by a vibrant, new outdoor art, a vibrant mural with a Puerto Rican flag motif in the archway adjacent to the restaurant's dining patio.
The mural is part of 78 pueblos y una bandera, (78 towns and one flag) an ongoing project by Puerto Rico-based artist Héctor Collazo, who is painting Puerto Rican flag murals in 78 towns in Puerto Rico, Miami and Villa Victoria, and is hoping to bring his works of Boricua pride to more cities in the mainland US.
IBA's arts program under the direction of JuanCarlos Gonzalez. Painting started on Wednesday, September 15 and was finished on the afternoon of September 16. The finished mural covers the interior of the archway and the exterior to the right, where a rope swing hangs in the arch.
According to Gonzalez, the city permit did not allow painting of the front of the arch facing W. Dedham Street, which remains white. On September 16 starting at 6:30 PM, IBA, Vejigantes and over 100 guests fêted the completion of the mural with a joyous block party at Vejigantes and across the street at Plaza Betances, where Eric German and his band entertained with dance music in a variety of traditional Puerto Rican genres. Guests included state representative and Puerto Rico native Dr. Jon Santiago (9th Suffolk).
Upon arriving on a morning flight to Boston, Collazo wasted no time in getting started on the painting with assistance from his girlfriend, blogger Jeanny López, and two young men. One of the men, William, moved from Puerto Rico to Southbridge eight years ago, and drove to Boston to volunteer as a painter after seeing Collazo's Instagram post about the project.
"I follow Héctor on Instagram. I like him because he is doing a lot of flags around the island." When William saw on Instagram that Collazo was coming to Boston, he wanted to participate in the mural. "It was a dream come true. It was a very nice day painting with Héctor. He was really nice to me. This is very special."
Gonzalez explained the special meaning the flag holds for himself and for other transplants from Puerto Rico who often are unable to go home to the island at holidays and special occasions.
"Especially around the holidays, [Puerto Ricans] who live in Boston get really nostalgic and passionate about wanting to be with family and be in the festivities in Puerto Rico. By our doing this, our community comes together and the youth see the passion for the flag or Puerto Rico. This is a way for us to bring all of this together and for artists to display their art. It benefits not only the neighborhood, but people who come from New York, Providence and elsewhere. I am super proud and excited about this."
Calderón-Rosado expressed her pride in being able to bring the unifying symbol of the flag to the community in the mural. "The flag really means a lot to Puerto Ricans...After a terrible year and a half, coming together as a community to celebrate this mural project is amazing. I'm excited!"