University of Llanos, Meta, Colombia

Hey Folks,

Man just made it back from Meta a state a little south from Bogota, the capitol. Meta was truly a hustle, I finished my first solo mural in 5 days and worked my butt off. Below are photos of the wall, a new video of the making of the mural, local newspaper coverage, and a little diary entry along the way...Check it out...

Click to watch the Making of the Mural.

Meta University Mural English Version from Trust Your Struggle on Vimeo.

Click to enlarge: Mural at University of Llanos.





This wall is at the entrance of the University.


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Day 1
I painted the wall with primer today. Man by the time I got to the top, I could roll two strokes then rest for 10 breaths, then roll two strokes and rest again. I was sweaty and freakin dying. I just got back to the hotel and I can barely close my hands... man I miss the crew

Day 2
Today I battled tropical rainstorms and frying sun. When it rains or gets to hot, I have to carry my large suitcase full of spraypaint and 20 buckets of paint upstairs to the location the University gave me to store my supplies. Who needs a gym when you got gallons of bucket paint.

Day 3
Wow! As I was getting bit by mosquitos today, my new security guard friend said... um you should wear repellent because we have Dengue here. Note to self: ask when you get to a new region if they have Dengue or Malaria there.

Day 4
Kinda have a little food poisoning, man my stomach is trippin. And today I have to spend all day on the top of the scaffolding. Nothing like balancing on one narrow piece of wood 3 stories in the air. I have already derived on exit strategy if this thing falls, but I pretty much summed up that if it falls odds aren't in my favor. My hands are more sore from holding on to the scaffolding than using the spray can. But I am almost done...

Day 5
My usual schedule, get to the school early like 8:30 and power it out until the sun gets so hot I feel my head melting then take a siesta and work though the night. Tonight I finished the mural at 5:00am. Worked through the night. I have no words...
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Anywho, that was me struggling, but thankfully it all came together. When the mural was completed, I dedicated the mural to the Victims of the genocide of the Union Patriotica. The region is so tense right now that the school asked me to change it because they couldn't be seen as having party affiliations. I told them I understood but argued that the UP is no longer a party, so it is not a solicitation for new members. The party was destroyed as over 5,000 of their leading members were assassinated or disappeared in the late 80's. This was a dedication to remember the Genocide.

They couldn't change it themselves because the students and staff supported it and it would look like censorship. So the dedication still rides. I know that this is easier for me to do as a foreigner because it would be more dangerous for a local person to write this message. So I knew, I had to stand my ground. For example, the lawyer representing the school was shot 3 times in the head 8 days before I arrived for being political. This region is tense...

Thanks folks for keeping up with my adventure. Shaun Burner gets here Wednesday as we take off to the next region for some more.

And here is the local newspaper coverage of the mural: