It all started with a painted Cow Parade in Zurich. Then the cow idea came to Chicago, then New York City. Before you knew it, cities around the world were getting artists to paint all kinds of giant animals (and other icons) and placing them around town.
There were painted salmon in Anchorage, guitars in Austin, crabs in Baltimore, lobsters in Halifax, Nova Scotia and so on. During our Trans-Americas Journey we’ve encountered painted cows, elk, horses, pelicans, pigs, buffalo, moose and even bears. And now: jaguars.
Twenty three jaguars painted by 23 different artists have just been installed in the lovely main plaza in the lovely town of San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico as part of a project called Jaguarte. They’re all great but we love the jaguar, below, because it incorporates a lot of the Mayan imagery we’ve been so immersed in lately…
UPDATE August 11, 2010: There are now 25 painted jaguars in San Cristobal de las Casas and they’re on the move. Some are still in the main plaza, but a whole pack of them have migrated to the Guadalupe pedestrian mall. Oh, and apparently No Tocar does not mean “don’t touch” in Spanish as we were taught in language school…almost every Mexican who walks by one of these jaguars reaches out and pets it.
Check out all 25 jaguars.
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Now that’s a strange piece of art, but I guess that’s why it’s so intriguing and interesting. It certainly makes an impression and I guess that’s why cities around the world are doing it. Though I wonder what’s the deal with Austing and guitars ?
Well, Austin is known as “The Live Music Capital of the World”
Karen and Eric, thanks for sharing the photo of the painted jaguar! Our family always enjoys locating the different painted sculptures in various places when we travel. It is fascinating to see which icon each respective city/town chooses! Are there many jaguars left around San Cristobal de las Casas?
Sadly, there are not MANY jaguars left anywhere. However, there are large chunks of relatively untouched, protected and virtually inaccessible areas in Chiapas where there are still a few jaguars left. Wish we could say we’ve seen one with our own eyes.
hi, i am very happy to see the picture on this blog.
I paint the jaguar, which is called “codice balam”.
Greetings from Mexico
Excellent. Ocala FL does the same thing with horses. Could you show more phtos?
Soon we’ll be posting on our visit to San Cristobal de las Casas and we’ll include more Jaguarte
Check out our new post which has photos of all 25 jaguars.