SAN ANTONIO – Two public art projects left unfinished with his passing in February held special meaning for San Antonio’s renowned artist and muralist Jesse Trevino.
One was a mural of the iconic Rosita Fernandez, known as the “San Antonio’s First Lady of Song,” who Trevino knew and respected.
“Rosita was most definitely that symbol of elegance to him,” said Gabriel Q. Velasquez, president and CEO of the Avenida Guadalupe Association. “Rosita stood for that level of artistic excellence.”
The other is a monument to veterans at Elmendorf Lake Park across from Our Lady of the Lake University.
“There’s something about us remembering those that are forgotten,” Velasquez said.
He said Trevino wanted the monument on San Antonio’s West Side, given the number of lives it lost during the Vietnam War.
Trevino, who was raised on the West Side, lost his right arm in the war but taught himself to paint with his left.
Velasquez said both projects were proposed years ago, but momentum waned as Trevino battled cancer and then, the pandemic hit.
But now, Velasquez said the arts in San Antonio are seeing a resurgence, presenting the opportunity to finally make both, a long-awaited reality.
He said he plans to talk to Mayor Ron Nirenberg about the city funding the mural, which Velasquez estimates could cost $750,000 to $1.5 million.
Velasquez said the 130-foot tall veteran’s monument of galvanized steel could be $3.5 to 3.75 million.
However, he said the priority now is building a prototype, which is already funded, of the veteran’s monument to show potential donors, veterans groups, and others.
If Bexar County can help as well, he said the mural and the memorial could serve as an investment.
In return, Velasquez said Trevino wanted them to be “an economic generator for creative individuals in the creative economy.”
For instance, he said because of Trevino’s physical limitations when it came to the Rosita mural, “We developed the project as a workforce development project specifically because we knew that Jesse was not able to climb up a scaffold.”
Back then, Velasquez said the late Bexar County Commissioner Paul Elizondo had wanted the mural on the historic Alameda Theater where Rosita had performed.
However, Velasquez said the final site has yet to be decided and could be open to public input.
He said both projects also would pay tribute to Jesse Trevino through his art, which is world-renowned and another reason visitors come to San Antonio.
“This is not about the ego of an artist,” Velasquez said. “This is about the pride of a city.”