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Abuelita
at the University of Florida’s “La Casita” in Gainesville, FL
Photos & film courtesy of Luke Lower
Ernesto painted for the University of Florida’s Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, also known as “La Casita.” La Casita is a “home away from home” for students, so Ernesto wanted the mural to connect students to the building, their culture, and to each other.
Abuela’s house represents comfort and security, just like La Casita. The mural uses that feeling and idea with a colorful, intricate design featuring abuela working in her garden, where lots of different plants and animals live together. They’re all at home.
When Ernesto made his first visit to La Casita, the students and faculty spoke of feeling at home there. Some people mentioned feeling like they were at abuela’s house. After the visit, each country was researched to find its national plant, flower, bird, butterfly, and other sources of pride. A symbol was chosen to represent each country.
Mural symbols by country:
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Cuba — coffee plant
Dominican Republic — palmchat bird
Puerto Rico — coqui frog
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Belize — keel billed toucan bird
Costa Rica — morpho butterfly
El Salvador — turquoise-browed motmot bird
Guatemala — coffee plant
Honduras — scarlet macaw bird
Mexico — dahlia flower
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Argentina — ceibo flower
Bolivia — qantuta flower
Brazil — jaguar
Chile — Chilean bell flower
Colombia — coffee plant
Ecuador — Galapagos marine iguana
French Guiana — water lily
Guyana — jaguar
Paraguay — bare-throated bellbird
Peru — qantuta flower
Suriname — jaguar
Uruguay — ceibo flower
Venezuela — Venezuelan troupial bird
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Philippines — sampaguita flower
Spain — red carnation flower
Some countries share a symbol, like El Salvador and Nicaragua, where the national bird is the turquoise-browed motmot in both countries. Some countries may find they feel represented by another country’s symbol. For instance, the morpho butterfly was chosen for Costa Rica, but it can be found in forests throughout Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. This overlap creates a community within the mural and symbolizes the shared story of the students.
Abuelita is an original work commissioned by the State of Florida Arts Council for the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
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Abuelita
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Gainesville, Florida, USA
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University of Florida’s Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures
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2021
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Latex and spray paint