SAN ANTONIO – When Elyse Bernal went house hunting half a dozen years ago, she knew a neighborhood north of downtown felt like home, thanks, in part, to a brand new work of art.
“I love how unique and representative it is. It’s, kind of, a point of pride for the neighborhood,” she said.
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That art work, a 3-dimensional, telescopic mural called “Vision del Futuro,” attracted her attention and fascination.
She says, since then, she has noticed that it does the same for a lot of people.
In fact, it serves as an unofficial landmark for the neighborhood, known as Five Points.
“Any time I’m trying to tell people where I live, they’re, like, ‘Oh yeah. I know exactly what you’re talking about, the 3D mural,’” she said.
The unusual mural covers two sides of a building, located at Fredericksburg Road and N. Flores Street, which is owned by VIA Metropolitan Transit.
However, it was created by a group called San Anto Cultural Arts with input from people who live in the neighborhood.
“I like how it represents all of the things that are important to us as San Antonians,” said Bernal, who arrived about a year too late to take part in the creation.
The mural features drawings of a number of local favorites, such as tacos, chips and salsa and a super-sized Tejano artist, as well as futurist items, including a rocket ship.
All of them were drawn with a red and cyan outline but take on a whole new look when viewed through special 3D glasses.
“You see yourself in it,” Bernal said. “But you can’t help but think about the future and that the sky’s the limit.”
At one point however, the Five Points neighborhood appeared to be on a downward spiral, struggling with problems that included vandals and vagrants.
Bernal says things later turned around, right around the same time the mural went up.
While she doesn’t believe the mural, itself, was responsible for the improvements, she says it doesn’t hurt to have something people can appreciate.
“We’re definitely working hard to get more art and more murals and installations across the neighborhood,” Bernal said.