Jazzamoart, proud son of jam

As a sound-visual tribute to the most endearing part of his childhood, the painter and sculptor Jazzamoart (Irapuato, 1951) will unveil his mural today Quintet del Bajío, memories of Irapuato in the City Theater of his homeland, overflowing with iconographic elements of the life and history of Irapuato, as well as its most emblematic characters," he said in an interview with Excelsior.

“What predominates in this mural is, of course, my passion for music and for painting it. So, in the center is the quintet, surrounded by a landscape and a kind of setting with some of my most important memories in Irapuato,” he explains.

Furthermore, he assures that the piece does not have a protagonist desire. “It is a dream with my town, which has grown a lot economically, although culturally we are still poor, because we already have this City Theater, which is where we are going to put the mural, but this issue is always a little difficult, because it always goes to the last and there is no money, but finally the mural was achieved”, although he recognizes that his true dream is to build a museum of contemporary art in this region.

Regarding the images he chose to capture in the mural, says Jazzamoart, whose given name is Francisco Javier Vázquez Estupiñán, they range from iconographic elements of his life to the history of the city, such as the old parish church, converted into The Cathedral; the Florentine fountain, donated by Maximilian and Carlota; the Plaza de Toros Revolución, the Train Station, the Virgen de la Soledad, the Paris shoe store, the stacked cheeses, the City Museum, the baskets with strawberries and emblematic characters such as Vasco de Quiroga.

“The Sergio León Chávez Soccer Stadium and the Trinca Fresera also appear, which, although we have not won almost anything (in soccer), we are children of jam. I always say that the two most beautiful clubs are the one from Atlante, which is quite daring, and the one from Irapuato, because being a son of jam, which, as I tell you in my country, is like being a son of shit, but sweet. And all this appears in the mural that I painted with the best materials so that it lasts a lifetime and is a mirror for any resident or adopted Irapuatense,” he asserts.

Are you a son of marmalade? “Yes, I am the son of the marmalade and I would like to have enough power so that we could have a better soccer team and one day dream of being champions, because Irapuato, in its history, the most it has won has been a second or third place in long tournaments, and we once had a scoring champion, Chava Ruiz, in the 60s.

The mural, 3.60 meters high by 10 meters long, was made in oil on linen and is the story of Jazzamoart's painted memories, which pays tribute to the artist's countrymen, from his parents and grandparents to those who he admires and have left behind. a legacy for the strawberry lares.

Is music the central character? It is insisted. “As its name indicates, it is the Quintet del Bajío, five musicians who carry saxophone, drums, double bass, piano and trumpet. They star in it. But what matters most to me about the work is sharing the painting and the art, because, fortunately, I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted, that is, they did not ask me to paint the portrait of so-and-so or the tribute to some hero, that is, there was no political line and there was total freedom of expression.”

How viable would it be to create a contemporary art museum in Irapuato? “We have had several negotiations with the people who have directed the destinies of the city, but the problem is eternal, because art goes against the current, always heroic, but we should not console ourselves because in other places things are worse.

“So, it is an arduous task and I don't know when we are going to achieve it, we only have some lights. Many people have believed in me and supported me, but in the end we have come across the hard part: the lack of budget, but right now I have hope that in this time things can be done. Furthermore, I have no political party; My party is art and I don't care who is in power, the only thing I want is for them to support Irapuato so that it is better, especially culturally, and if I don't achieve the dream of the museum... I already entrusted it to my children and to my young countrymen,” he concludes.

• 3.6 meters high by 10 meters long the mural measures.