Mural Art

Both of the murals at Cheluna (and pictured below) are inspired by the Alebrijes from Oaxaca, following the inspiration behind Cheluna brewing, which was also inspired by the home of Javi’s grandparents.

Julio Mendosa is a Denver based International Artist and Muralist whose style is defined greatly by his Mexican Heritage and Latino culture. It is of utmost importance to him to incorporate his roots from La Madre Patria (mother country) of Mexico into his art. In Julio’s words, “I am who I am in most part because of my Mexican and Latino heritage, therefore incorporating my heritage into my art is meaningful to me and I feel it’s meaningful to those that can relate to that sentiment as well.”

To Julio, it is the greatest gift to be inspired by one’s own culture: traditions, food, people and colors, and he feels blessed to be able to put such inspirations into art pieces and to be able to invoke inspiration in others. Julio's goal is to keep his culture’s traditions alive for generations to come through the celebration and preservation of them. Much of Julio's work celebrates the colors of Mexico and venerates the iconic and mythical figures of his youth, which was largely spent in Mexico. Jen and Javi, the owners of Cheluna, are proud to support local artists like Julio, and hope that Cheluna taproom guests enjoy the murals as much as they do!

Xolito

After meeting a couple of times with Jen and Javi, I decided to create a Xoloitzquintle mural, which is a very sacred and ancient Mexican dog breed. The popular children's movie Coco has made the Xolo dog a much more commonly recognized symbol of Mexico, and the remains of Xoloitzquintle dogs have been found in Aztec and Mayan burial sites. Xolos, or Xoloitzquintles, are thought to accompany the souls of the departed into the afterworld, and as such, they have held, and still hold, an elevated status in both indigenous and modern day Mexican households. Julio loved the scale of the big wall outside of Cheluna and thought it perfect to have a larger than life Xoloitzquintle mural welcoming the people to Cheluna.

Corazón

Julio and Javi saw the location of his second Cheluna mural, the Corazon, or heart, and knew that the heart was perfect for the heart of Cheluna. Julio loves creating variations of his anatomical heart artwork, and felt that the space needed something to tie all the art around the taproom together. The upper level wall where the Corazon is located needed a piece that would welcome you as soon as you entered Cheluna, which is exactly what the illuminated and hauntingly beautiful heart mural does, welcoming all who enter Cheluna, 'Bienvenido a Cheluna!' This is the heart of Cheluna, el Corazón de Cheluna.