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On Thursday, President Diana Natalicio, along with Marcos Bucio, General Consul of Mexico in El Paso, and Ruben Calderon Lujan, Secretary of Education for the State of Durango, announced the binational partnership between the two countries at the inauguration of the mural, “A Bridge Uniting Two Countries.”
“Today we have three very important events that show the dynamic and close relationship between UTEP and Mexico, as the common denominator in these events are bridges; bridges of understanding, bridges of support, educational bridges and cultural bridges,” Natalicio said.
At the event, 12 students were granted the Durango-UTEP Scholarship as part of the collaboration agreement between the state of Durango and UTEP.
“This event is lucky to know the world through the art, the culture and the roots of these countries as the destiny of both nations was to drink water from the same river since the beginning,” said Ruben Calderon Lujan, who is the secretary of education for the state of Durango.
The mural “A Bridge Uniting Two Countries,” painted by Paloma Vianey Martinez, UTEP painting and art history major, was inaugurated.
The mural shows both sides of the border, each with their respective flags being united by a bridge. Martinez said the same landscape represents both countries to display the equity of both nations.
“In the mural, you can find a landscape that does not belong to either country, I know each country has beautiful landscapes, but here I wanted to show that besides their differences, they can live as one whole community as my vision was to establish a connection between the two countries,” Martinez said. “In the mural, the gender equality is present, as in both sides you will find the same number of women and men in each side of the painting.”
Guests were invited by the artist to take a closer look at the mural to observe the details in the painting.
“I think the mural is something beautiful, but at the same time it feels like an utopia as we know that is not the reality people face on the bridge, however I like the idea because it reflects the hope that no matter how bad the situation is we can always do something to change it,” said Daniel Garcia, graduate student.
“I want to thank Dr. Natalicio for supporting me and to the consulate for giving me the opportunity of painting the first of many murals,” Martinez said.
At the end of the event, Bucio honored Martinez with a plaque recognizing her for the creation of the mural.
The mural is located inside the building of the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso.
