ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Muralist Returns to Restore Atenas Mural by Mary Martin Mason Originally published in Mango Musings, March 2, 2023 Photos courtesy of Mango Musings
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arly in his career, Mexican artist Diego Rivera copied the classical art of his European contemporaries. Wanting to capture the history of the pre-Hispanic people that were his ancestors, none of whom were reflected in traditional art, Rivera returned to an ancient form of art that dates back 30,000 years. He became a muralist. When restaurant owner Gabriel Aguilar Arreola, opened the popular Iguanas Restaurant and Pizzeria in Atenas, he commissioned Leonel Méndez Pérez to create a mural to enhance the open air dining area. He said, “I needed a magical space that would provide a pleasant experience for our clients.”
ACE: ARTS, CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT
The Sleeping Lady
Leonel Méndez Pérez with Iguanas mu
From their first meeting, Aguilar and Méndez became good friends. Aguilar gave the artist absolute freedom, knowing he had the credentials to execute the painting. Aguilar suggested a natural landscape with symbolic animals. The result is a backdrop so delightful that children try to chase the still life animals and birds. Méndez’s talents extend into music. He studied music at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. His first instrument was the saxophone, and he excels in playing the guitar. Twenty-five years ago, he had a music school that is now closed. COVID shut down his art academy in Puriscal. Now, he teaches art online and recently returned from a teaching stint in Germany and Denmark. While in Denmark, he created a mural of Venice for an Italian restaurant that included a perfectly set table in a corner that is indistinguishable from the other tables.
The result is a backdrop so delightful that children try to chase the still life animals and birds.
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