Signs, signs, everywhere signs….Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Faded sign not far from our house.

Waking up around three in the morning with a bright idea on what to write for our next blog, I scribbled a note to myself, a reminder for when I am fully awake. Later, while drinking my first cup of morning coffee, I looked at a fellow blogger’s page. Signs, she’d posted numerous photos of local signs. I must have been channelling her thoughts. During the dark hours of the morning, I had scribbled: write about the art of hand-painted signs. Weird.

La Esperanza - 2008 photo

For me, hand-painted signs are soulful expressions from the heart.  They are unique, individual, unlike the vinyl computer-generated signs that have almost decimated the traditional sign painting businesses in North America.   

Here on Isla one of my favourite hand-painted creations is the sign for La Esperanza, left over from a little gift store on Juarez that ceased operation long before we arrived on the island.  

The whimsical black cat still sits under a large shade tree patiently waiting beside the bright red door, hoping someone will let her inside. Bit by bit, the painting is disappearing. Fortunately, in 2008, I took a decent photo of the mural for my collection of Isla memorabilia.

Hotel Las Palmas - cheerful exterior

More recently, we noticed the amazing canvas that decorates the street-side entrance of the Hotel Las Palmas on Guerrero Avenue. It is a happy mix of peacocks, flamingoes, palm trees and tropical flowers.  

What a great way to sparkle up the exterior, and to fix the tropical experience in the mind of their guests.  How can anyone resist taking a photo or two of that entrance?

May 2010 Election sign

During federal, state, or municipal election campaigns, local sign-painters find a bonanza of work for a few weeks, painting the colours, slogans, and promises on fences and walls.  

Then shortly after the campaign has been won or lost, the signs are covered over with a coat of white paint, waiting as a blank canvas for the next election.

Colegio de Bachilleres painters 2009.  R Bietting photo

For the most part, the signs are created by one or perhaps two painters working together, but when the Colegio de Bachilleres (high school) decided to repaint the wall across the street from our house in March of 2009, they organized a work party.  

At one point, we counted ten guys chatting, painting, clowning around and dancing to their iPods.  

My cousin Rob snapped a dozen or so photos, keeping a timeline of their progress.  Either it was good planning and teamwork, or luck; the sign turned out just fine – straight letters, and nice inside-the-lines painting.  Four years later, it is still legible.

Between Centro Mercado and a school

It may be a dying art in most of North America, but here on Isla Mujeres, the incredible art of hand-painted signage gives the island a quirky, memorable personality.  

For next week’s blog, I wonder if I can tap into Becky’s thoughts again for more ideas?   

Hasta Luego          
Lynda and Lawrie

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