Community
Project Esperanza: A Mural of Hope is a mural painting project that was executed by Blanca Herrada--Lead Artist, and Mariel Ferreiro--Musicologist, while in collaboration with Ross Elementary and Eisenhower Middle School students, Music Coordinator, Stacy Neumann, and the Tonantzin Society of Topeka. The students executed this project with guidance from supervising adults. The purpose of this project was to bring awareness to the contributions of African and Latino cultures in music. We chose these particular cultures/peoples because they are the root of modern music and also the ancestors of the cultural majority at Ross/Eisenhower, and we wanted those students to feel represented while providing all students a colorful and inspirational work of art to discuss and learn from.
We agreed on symbols that were representative of the students, the root cultures, and the school. We incorporated both of the mascots from the schools—the roadrunner and the eagle. The roadrunner looks on as the eagle leads the way into the new beginning. An Aztec man, representative of Latino culture, playing an indigenous instrument, the concha. A Taino woman, representative of the African/Caribbean culture, plays the indigenous turtle shell drum. The ancestors are followed by students holding flags with the school colors and playing modern instruments.
We decided to also incorporate Kansas-themed images such as the Topeka Capitol rotunda, a Cottonwood Tree, sunflowers, and a famous sunrise over water. The musical notes are from a song entitled When I Came to This Land which is about immigration and building a humble life. The words we chose: Hope and Courage—are words meant to inspire and encourage the students. We hope that this mural continues to be a source of conversation, education, inspiration, and admiration in the years to come. We want all students, faculty, and families to feel a sense of pride in themselves and their school.