By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Roger Peet, a Portland, Oregon artist, has completed a mural near the corner of Losoya and Main streets in downtown Del Rio.
Peet’s mural features a Mexican Blindcat, an endangered catfish that is primarily found in Mexico, but has been found on the United States side of the border in caves.
“What the organization is trying to do is make these endangered animals a part of people’s lives through the murals,” Peet said Thursday afternoon sitting in Mesquite Creek Outfitters. “I think it’s a very imaginative way to raise the awareness to the public.”
Casa de la Cultura partnered with the Endangered Species Mural Project to bring Peet to Del Rio. The project has created 26 murals in the United States and one in Mexico.
The project was started by Peet in 2015 to bring awareness to endangered species. Each mural depicts endangered species around the mural’s local area.
The Del Rio project is the first mural that Peet has done in over 18 months, thanks to the pandemic. Although funded by the Creative Media conservation organization, they also rely on funding from the communities that they work in in order to make the project happen. The project’s goal is to create 100 murals across the country to remind people of the endangered wildlife in their own region.
“Everywhere on Earth is unique, with qualities that distinguish it from other places both near and far. One of those qualities is biodiversity — the plants and animals that call a place home and may not be found anywhere else. Those species embody an area’s natural history and contribute to what makes it irreplaceable,” said Peet.
The 25-square foot mural will be celebrated at an event spearheaded by the Casa de la Cultura at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with speakers from the San Antonio Zoo, Peet, the Casa and many local officials as well as live music from Family Jewelz and food.
Many of Peet’s past murals can be seen at www.diversity.org/murals and his prints can be found at https://justseeds.org/artist/rogerpeet/.
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Contact the author at joelalangton@gmail.com
