Grey clouds loomed overhead as Chris Fonseca showed Hemisfair CEO Andres Andujar and Centro San Antonio CEO Trish DeBerry how to add the finishing touches to the “Hemisfair 1968” part of the mural with different colored cans of spray paint.
Despite the weather calling for rain, a crowd of around 50 people attended the unveiling of Fonseca’s newest public art display titled, “The Love Letter.”
The mural, representing the past, present and future of Hemisfair is showcased on the back wall of the Magik Theatre near Yanaguana Garden. The mural is painted on a small building that was built for the 1968 World’s Fair and used as a concessions stand.
The design starts at one end, decked with dragons, crumbling stone structures and a buffalo, and flows around the corner with the Tower of America, bluebonnets and vines, and ends at the other end with a crow, an axolotl and spirals of the original San Antonio Spurs colors.
When asked about why he chose those specifically, Fonseca explained that the rainbow serpent dragon comes from Africa, which is the nation where every race stems from: the first nation.
Fonseca continued to explain how even the tiny details like the Aztec symbols mean something. He had added a swastika symbol, saying how the symbol had a balanced meaning before Hitler took it as his own, but after complaints, had to take it down. “I did want to have that little piece, that story element to that, because I think it’s important that we correct our history.”
According to Fonseca, the mural stands not only as a representation of Hemisfair’s past, present and future, but as a representation of gratitude toward the city from himself.
Fonseca choked back tears when he explained why he chose the title and how San Antonio paid a huge part in it. “You’ve [San Antonio] been with me through probably the hardest time in my life. San Antonio, you’ve accepted me. (…) You’ve accepted this transplant with open arms.”
Fonseca moved to San Antonio from Idaho in 2022 where he “won” his current house. He connected with the previous homeowner by writing a love letter to the house – beating out other interested investors who wanted to buy it.
As Andujar gave his thanks to Fonseca, he said the mural impacted the park and its future. “Art has the power to inspire and spark conversations. This mural will serve as a visual reminder of our shared past and the possibilities we’ll have.”
DeBerry called the mural “wicked”, tying the art piece to the Wicked movie that came out last November. “Wicked doesn’t mean evil anymore. (…) Wicked means thinking outside the bounds of what could happen. (…) of being intentional and thoughtful and passionate and creative.”
The mural is number 182 in Centro’s Art Everywhere Project and joins around half a dozen other murals located at Hemisfair according to Anujar.
Fonseca said his hope for the mural is for visitors to be able to see something about themselves in it. “If this is a love letter, and if it’s addressed to you guys, the San Antonio community, I want to make sure that you identify in at least one or two parts of this mural.”
