An El Paso artist pays tribute to the victims of the Walmart shooting with his creative stiletto artwork, “Viviras Para Siempre (You Will Live Forever).”
Ozzy Mata, 33, said his artwork will be submitted to “Chingona Soles,” which is part of the Stiletto Art & Fashion Show in Phoenix on Friday, Oct. 11. The show promotes haute couture, vibrant Hispanic culture and philanthropy. It aims to empower minority communities through art and advocacy.
Mata, who grew up in an artistic family with aunts and uncles, said he was living in Phoenix when the mass shooting occurred on August 3, 2019.
“I went to Eastwood High School and had relatives who lived in that area. I remember it was just sad and how close-knit the community was. The whole town was shocked when this happened,” he said.
Mata, who is back in El Paso, said he wanted to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting in the belief that Latinos are always connected to their ancestors in the cycle of life and death.
The artwork emphasizes that death is not the end, but a continuation of life in another realm. The piece includes 23 butterflies, one for each victim. The stiletto also features an Aztec mask, symbolizing life and death, on the tip and a bride and her mariachi husband on each side of the shoe, reunited in the afterlife. The back of the shoe features the Franklin Mountains and the star on the mountain.
Eventually, people will be able to go online to chingonasoles.com and bid on the artwork, which will then be auctioned off for charity. More of Mata’s artwork can also be seen on his Instagram: www.instragram.com/devious__devor/
More: The sky is the limit: El Paso celebrates the opening of the La Nube science center
María Cortés González can be reached at 915-546-6150; [email protected], @EPTMaria on Twitter; eptmariacg on Tiktok.
