Po’pay Mural Unveiling

Featuring internationally acclaimed sculptor Cliff Fragua (1955-) of Jemez Pueblo, creator of the Po’pay statue in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, a Buffalo Dance by Piro descendants from the Mesquite District, and a mural walk.

The mural was painted by artist Esequiel “Zeke” Rubio based on Fragua’s sculpture honoring Po’pay (1630-88), a Tewa religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo in Rio Arriba County), who led the 1680 Pueblo Revolt against Spanish colonial rule. It was the first successful anticolonial revolt against a European colonial power in the Western Hemisphere.

Murals with a Message is an organization working to create 25 murals along Mesquite Street – part of the original Camino Real de Tierra Adentro – in downtown Las Cruces, according to muralswithamessage.org

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