Here the magic begins
By: Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda I.A.P / Photos: Santiago Boldó.
The person in charge of artistically capturing the natural riches of both flora and fauna of the Biosphere Reserve, was the plastic artist Santiago Boldó, an architect, practically originally from Tequisquiapan, where he arrived when he was just one year old
"I was born in Chiapas, but since I was one year old I have lived in Tequisquiapan so I consider myself from here, I studied architecture at the Tec Regional de Querétaro, but I always knew that I wanted to paint."
Boldó has been fully dedicated to art for a little over five years and as soon as he received the invitation from Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda I.A.P., to carry a message in favor of mother earth through his artistic sensitivity, he did not hesitate to heed the call: "It was a beautiful experience to be there in the mountains painting, we hope that it is the beginning of other works."
Since Santiago was a child, he was attracted to painting, in his family and acquaintances runs the artistic vein so he grew up wrapped in brushes, free expression and a unique mental acuity. He worked as an architect, but his inner voice always told him that the path to follow was that of art - "Painting, design and illustration were always what caught my attention the most".
When Pati Ruiz Corzo, director of Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda, invited him to intervene the walls of the Rafael Jiménez school, as a further step within the activities focused on environmental education organized by this civil organization for 36 years, the artist was immediately attracted
"We had meetings so that I could learn about all the projects of Grupo Ecológico, and the idea of making these murals focused on some of the microclimates of the Sierra Gorda arose and I came up with the idea of doing them as an illustration, I received a list with options of plants and animals and so I decided to illustrate an example of each one in the spaces we had."
From murals to social networks
The murals of Santiago Boldó and Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda have only been going on for a few days and people are already starting to share their photos through social networks
"We have not yet started with the formal dissemination and I already receive notifications where people take photos of themselves in the murals and tag me, other people send me their photos of look where I am!"
But the impact is just beginning and since Boldó was in the middle of the work, he managed to hear comments from children asking their parents about what they saw in the murals: "Mom! What animal is that?" the artist managed to hear when a child pointed to his illustration of the ocelot.
"I am glad that the murals were in the head of the town, from there you start to go down and discover everything, there is no way that they will go unnoticed since they are right after the letters that say Pinal de Amoles, I am very excited because I am sure that when the children return from vacation and see the murals, they are going to feel very happy."
Art: a great vehicle to promote education
Each image corresponds to the name of the species that is represented on each of the walls, so children and adults can learn about the inhabitants of the reserve and share what they have learned
"I wanted it to be not just something graphic, but somehow also have something educational."
The next steps
Santiago does not take his finger off the line of continuing to transmit love and respect for nature through his art, which is why he is already in talks with Grupo Ecológico to intervene walls in Jalpan.
Currently, this plastic artist is preparing an exhibition in the city of Querétaro at the Casa Bestiario art gallery, located in the historic center.
You can follow Santiago Boldó on Instagram: @santiagoboldo
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