Pathways Murals

High School Students Complete Tlaxcala Sister City Mural

Artist Educator: Gabriel Lopez

Location: Garaman Park Underpass

A new mural was created by JH High School students to celebrate the relationship between sister cities Jackson, Wyoming and Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Thirty-five high school students contributed to the new mural project, as part of a Spanish Through Art class taught by Gabriel Lopez. In this upper-level Spanish language class, students develop their Spanish skills through learning about Mexican art and create a work of art at the end of every thematic unit.

Over the last thirty years, many people from the Tlaxcala state have emigrated to Jackson and the surrounding region. The mural depicts the richness of Tlaxcala, which is located east of Mexico City at approximately 7,000 feet above sea level. Students studied the history of the region and selected elements to represent local plantlife, folk art and dance, significant Olmec-Xicalanca archaeological sites, historical buildings from the town of San Simeon, and two nearby volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. This mural - at 76 feet in length - was a large undertaking, and teacher Gabriel Lopez notes: “I knew it was going to be a challenge but I was more excited for my students to see that they are capable of accomplishing big things.”