SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio artist is honoring Tejano legend Selena Quintanilla with a portrait-style mural near Market Square.
The artist behind the vibrant mural is Roland Alvarez, who was born and raised on the West Side. Alvarez said he is honored to bring artwork to a neighborhood where he grew up.
Art was something that Alvarez enjoyed as a child, but it was never something that he took seriously or envisioned pursuing full-time.
While Alvarez remembered his father telling him to use his talents to make an impact, he always felt that art was just an afterthought.
“I couldn’t see it that far, but he always used to try to tell me, ‘Mijo, do something with your art. Do something big with it. Do it like these other people are doing it,” Alvarez said. “Growing up in the West Side corner, I never expected that for me.”
Twenty years later, Alvarez hopes he is making an impact with his Selena mural. The mural was commissioned by the City Problem Solvers, a San Antonio organization that focuses on revitalizing neighborhoods.
Alvarez told KSAT that he not only created the piece to pay homage. He wants the mural to bring hope and joy to the community that he feels is sometimes forgotten.
“There’s a lot of lost hope sometimes,” Alvarez said. “Even when I was painting this, a lot of people were coming up to me in the streets and saying how it all brought (sic) and it made her feel positive and it gave her (someone) something to look at.”
Next to the mural is an empty spot adjacent to the wall. Alvarez told KSAT that another piece, whose theme could be iconic musicians, could be in the works.
Plans have not been finalized, Alvarez said.
Alvarez’s artwork can also be found on Instagram at @optek_art.
Read also: