March’s Recipient of Sayulita Life’s $5,000 Donation*: Mural for Ser Su Voz
This month’s recipient of Sayulita Life’s $5,000 donation went toward Ser Su Voz’s initiative to create a mural on the bridge/boardwalk near Villa Amor Hotel. Ser Su Voz Sayultia A.C. is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to protect Sayulita’s environment and create projects or initiatives to continually improve the safety and health of our ecology, and bring environmental awareness and care to our Sayulita community. Sayulita Life’s donation went directly toward helping to pay the artist of the mural himself, Emiliano Alvaro, from Guadalajara.
Tracie Willis, founder of Ser Su Voz, came up with the idea for the mural as she was out walking her dogs one morning. She thought that the boardwalk, being so close to the colorful and beautiful beach, looked so plain, bare, and ugly in comparison; she hoped that by painting a mural depicting an ocean scene with various marine life, that it could help to plant the seed of environmental consciousness in others as they look at it, while also serving as a beautiful piece of art to admire, adding to the vibrancy our artistic and colorful Sayulita is known for.
The mural’s design includes images of a surfer, the ocean, as well as various marine life, such as the beautiful whale and turtle, two well-respected and native animals in our region that are also in danger. Tracie says that she hopes the mural brings “respect” for the tortuga and brings awareness to the local fishermen to get them to stop driving on the beach. The overall design shows the theme of man being one with nature, as the surfer is enjoying the ocean while simultaneously respecting that it is the home of the animals and marine life that he shares his waves with. Also included in the mural are the ashes of Dean Markwood painted into the whale; Dean was the husband of Theresa Markwood, long-time Sayulita resident since 1992.
Artist Emiliano Alvaro from Guadalajara began the mural project on January 5th, 2020, and finished it on February 10th, 2020. Emiliano worked together with Tracie and Ser Su Voz to come up with a design that would bring desperately needed attention to pertinent environmental issues and how much we both as a community, and around the world, are struggling to protect our environment. Other examples of work can be seen on his Facebook Page, along with videos of his process in creating the mural.
For more information about Ser Su Voz Sayulita A.C., please visit their website.
*Since its founding in 2004, SayulitaLife.com has been dedicated to giving back to the community of Sayulita. In our 15th year as a company, Sayulita Life has created the “Giving Fund”, where we have pledged to donate $5,000 pesos EVERY MONTH to a local charity or cause. Read more at https://www.sayulitalife.com/giving-back.
Written by: Aanya Sheikh-Taheri
