KERRVILLE, Texas – As search teams continue to scour the Guadalupe River for victims, Roberto Marquez is looking for something else.
A location for a memorial, where the ever-growing number of victims can be honored.
“We need to have these places because it’s very important. That’s where we unite. That’s where we cry together,” Marquez said. “That’s where we come and hug each other, maybe meditate."
The Dallas-based artist arrived in Kerr County on Tuesday with his wife, Yolanda. He plans to make wooden crosses for as many of the victims as he can — built from flood debris whenever possible.
“When I kind of finish the piece, that piece for me needs to be as connected as possible to the area where all of our brothers passed away,” he said.
Marquez also plans to paint a mural and create an artistic rendition of the Texas flag in honor of the children who were killed in the July 4 flood.
Once profiled by Texas Monthly, Marquez has traveled across the state and country to offer his artistic services at various tragedies and disasters.
He was in Uvalde after a gunman murdered 19 children and two teachers, and in San Antonio a few weeks later, when 53 migrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer on the Southwest Side.
He traveled to Washington, D.C. after a passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided. He’s been to Philadelphia, New Orleans, Dallas and even Mexico.
“It feels good when you do something for somebody,” he explained.
Though Marquez originally started working on the crosses in the parking lot of a Kerrville VFW post on Tuesday, he told KSAT the post didn’t want the installation there permanently.
Marquez plans to check out another possible site Wednesday morning with a collaborator who does flowers.
More flood coverage on KSAT
