This Fort Worth artist plans to celebrate Hispanic culture in mural for All-Star Game
An unmistakable scent of fresh paint mingled with the heat, creating a lively atmosphere of anticipation as a Fort Worth native cracked open a fresh can of spray paint and began to tell the story of Latin culture and baseball.
Juan Velasquez, is an artist, veteran and die-hard Texas Rangers fan who grew up on the north side. He went viral in January 2023 after his Arlington mural perfectly illustrated the iconic 2016 fight between the Rangers’ Rougned Odor and the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista.
Fast forward to the present, and Velasquez has partnered with the Texas Rangers to paint a mural that represents the Hispanic community in Fort Worth in honor of the 2024 All-Star Game on July 16 at Globe Life Field.
Ray Casas, who works with the Texas Rangers Foundation, acknowledged Velasquez’s mural made him popular among fans, but said he was chosen because of his body of work.
“He is a hometown favorite. He is somebody that is revered by youth here in the city of Fort Worth,” he said.
Using inspiration derived from Hispanic culture, Velasquez will paint a mural of Latino and Latina baseball and softball players reaching their dreams as they start in T-ball and advance to the big leagues.
The mural will cover a wall of Artes de La Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts, 1440 N. Main St. Velasquez began volunteering at the center after he lost his job due to the pandemic. Then he asked the center to display his work. The mural will be unveiled the week of July 10.
“I don’t think I could ever imagine that I would be, you know, painting,” he said. “I have murals here and there, probably like 160, and every one of them is meaningful, especially this one. I started [here] before anybody really knew who I was. I went in and asked them to give me an art show. And they did. They were the first people to say, yes we’ll do an art show for you.”
As part of the community events surrounding the All-Star Game, 50 children will attend a three day workshop at the center and attend the game. Velasquez will be one of the three art instructors helping the kids create their own version of the Texas Rangers logo.
