The Jalisco State Water Commission has asked Guadalajara muralist Jorge Monroy for a painting to grace its new building on the shores of Lake Chapala. The painting, tentatively entitled “Tlaloc Reigns Over Chapala,” will hang in a large stairwell where it will be visible from two floors. Although Monroy turned the completed work over to Commission authorities on May 14, dedication of the new building – a training center – will not take place until sometime in July, after the upcoming Mexican presidential elections. Inaugurations and other ceremonies which could be used as political platforms, are forbidden by law during this pre-election period. The Reporter’s JOHN PINT stopped by Monroy’s rustic studio in Pinar de la Venta to ask him about his newest creation.
Tlaloc is the god of rain, fertility and water. Why did you decide to do a painting of him?
As in most commissioned work, there was a list of requirements, things which must appear in the painting. Because the Water Commission wanted this, it had to have, of course, something to do with water. They also wanted me to portray the ancient gods of water. This was fortunate for me, because, among Mexico’s past cultures, there are statues, drawings and other representations of all kinds of gods associated with water.
The style of this painting seems different from your previous works.
I think of myself more as an intuitive than a technical artist. This means I don’t have one formula or one way to paint. Each project speaks to me and tells me what I have to do for that particular picture. In school and over the years, I learned a variety of techniques, like those of watercolors, gouache, oil, tempera, acrylics and others, but in the end, I have to forget all of it and listen to what each new painting tells me to do. So I have confidence in my intuition and I follow it.
What should we look for in this new painting?
Here a certain theme dominates and others are subordinate to it, like in a play, where there is only one star. In this painting, there are many subjects and there are Mayan, Mixteca and Aztec gods, including Tlaloc’s wife, Chalchiuhtlicue, “She who wears an emerald skirt,” goddess of love and beauty, as well as of “horizontal waters” such as oceans, rivers and lakes. The main focus of the painting, however, is on Tlaloc himself, who is quite curious as he’s always represented with goggle-eyes and ear spools and what would at first seem to be huge, downward-turned fangs. These, I believe, are actually an attempt to depict water flowing copiously from the god’s mouth and I have followed this interpretation. In the painting you can also see the three states of water in its solid, liquid and gaseous forms. And at the bottom there is the embarcadero at Chapala with the well-known Cerro de Garcia, Cerro Viejo and la Piedra Barrenada in the far distance.
Are you satisfied with how the painting turned out?
In the case of Tlaloc, neither the Water Commission nor I had any idea what the final result would look like. They hired me on the basis of my previous works but in the end, this new painting was a surprise both for me and for them ... a pleasant surprise, I’m happy to say. The painting turned out to be rich in many ways, rich in shapes, colors, lines, forms and layers. The spectator is invited to keep looking at this painting for a long time, to discover shapes behind the shapes and symbols inside of symbols. So, I’d say this painting is rich in many ways. I didn’t know I could do this kind of work!
Those who have followed Jorge Monroy’s career will be pleased to know that the muralist will soon make some original drawings and prints of his watercolors available for purchase. For more information, email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with “Jorge Monroy” on the subject line.