On May 31, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB MACC) will dedicate their new murals painted by students in the Caminos Teen Leadership Program. The high school students in this program worked on the mural project under the guidance of the artist Miguel Santana, a contemporary, Austin-based Teaching Artist who hosted Taller Abierto painting classes with the ESB MACC.

The murals are painted on recently installed benches at the “Pocket Park” at 64 Rainey Street located outside of the ESB MACC at the corner of River Street and Rainey Street. Temporary park improvements at the park have been installed as of Spring 2024 with donated benches. 

The Caminos Teen Leadership program strives to help teens in the Austin-area get an idea of life in the arts and give back to their community. This year’s Caminos teens will be graduating in June 2025. This collection of new murals is their final group project. The teens have been part of every step of the artistic process including: hearing about the inner workings of City-funded Public Artworks, creating the concept and sketches for the mural designs, and learning how to adapt their painting techniques for the benches' surfaces.

The murals reflect and honor the students’ internship experiences and connections throughout the course of their time with the ESB MACC. The artwork depicts joyful mariachi musicians, ballet folklorico dancers, and included a bench dedicated to founding member and the Center’s namesake, Emma S. Barrientos. They also created a mural featuring the theme of traditional Mexican lotería cards customized with unique specific cultural icons like “The Ajolote” and “The Caminante”. One of the bench designs was done by local artist Alonso Estrada, honoring the contributions of construction workers to the current ESB MACC phase 2 expansion and renovation.

The public will be able to enjoy these public artworks on benches as part of temporary improvements to the Pocket Park. Additional murals are planned to be featured full-scale in the permanent park improvements. This public mural project has granted our teens the opportunity to leave their mark on the ESB MACC even before its Phase 2 construction is completed (the estimated reopening of the ESB MACC is November 2025). The ESB MACC facility and the Caminos program are under the Office of Arts, Music, Culture and Entertainment (ACME). 

The ESB MACC building and surrounding areas are under active construction and continue to be closed to the public. The Pocket Park at 64 Rainey is an open air space outside of the construction fencing with no access to restrooms. The public is encouraged to join the event virtually on a phone, computer, or tablet by navigating to the MACC Facebook or Instagram (@ESBMACC on both platforms) at 10 a.m. on May 31. Attending in person is also an option; please note that there is no parking or restrooms available at the site. Parking is available at the Sanchez Elementary back Parking lot (corner of Spence Street and Waller Street). A shuttle van will take you from Sanchez to the Pocket Park. If you do not see a shuttle van, it may be in transit. The event will start promptly at 10:05 a.m.

To learn more about the Caminos program and apply, visit AustinTexas.gov/Caminos and follow @ATXCaminos on social media.