Tito Matos mural by Molly Crabapple

Tito Matos mural

Artist: Molly Crabapple

Dates: May 2023 - present

Location: La Plaza (exterior wall of parking lot)

This mural was done to honor the incomparable Tito Matos, a Plena music legend, a stylistic genre that along with Bomba is the heart and soul of the Puerto Rican African -rooted sound. It was a collaborative effort with Miguel Trelles who dreamed up a beautiful portrait of Matos in a striking red.

On the left we have the Santurce neighborhood of Puerto Rico where Tito is from. It shows La Goyco, the cultural center where Tito set up a Plena school. Matos, a true virtuoso, was not just a brilliant musician but also an educator, who was committed to the preservation and propagation of Puerto Rico’s music forms. Here we have Bomba dancers, prancing on the canisters of tear gas that were hurled at the anti-austerity protesters by the colonial police with street musicians livening up the scene.

Then we follow the power lines past Tito, who like a cultural bridge, connects Puerto Rico to the Loisaida- the lower east side. Here we have all the icons of the squatting scene; umbrella house, CHARAS as well as famed Nuyorican places like Sala De Pepe and Casa Adela. We also have domino players and Piragua sellers hawking their treats. And finally we have Santa Marta La Dominadora, a feminist “saint," floating over the scene like a protector. To her right we have some tightrope walkers wearing traditional Vejigante masks, a folkloric character, often celebrated during Puerto Rican festivities.