Bolivia in Philadelphia: Mural Arts commissions renowned artist Roberto Mamani Mamani

A piece of Bolivia has made its way to Philadelphia.

In Southwest Philly, on the exterior of Philadelphia Animal Specialty and Emergency (PASE), vibrant, neon colors radiate off the walls in Mural Arts’ latest installation, painted by internationally renowned Bolivian artist Roberto Mamani Mamani.

The 130-foot-wide mural, Mamani Mamani said, celebrates Indigenous and Latino culture — something Mamani Mamani said he was excited to contribute to Philly’s mural landscape, considering the large Latino population in the city and country.

“This was a big undertaking. All of the labor was in order to show what we see from the other side of Latin America, to share those cultural elements — the feelings of being Latin American — and to create those symbols,” Mamani Mamani said through an interpreter.

Work on the mural took place throughout September.

The idea to bring Mamani Mamani to Philly originated when Catherine Bartch, associate director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies (CLALS), was on a trip to Bolivia a few years ago. She was introduced to Mamani Mamani’s artwork, and floored by his talent, told her department she wanted to find a way to bring him to Philadelphia.

Mamani Mamani’s commission was funded by CLALS, who received a grant from the Mellon Foundation Just Futures Initiative, and Mural Arts Philadelphia.

“To me, it’s just a beautiful, bright representation of Indigenous cosmology,” said Naeemah Patterson, the Mural Arts project manager behind the mural, who added a high-traffic location was chosen for the mural because of Mamani Mamani’s renown.

“Pachamama is the uniting factor, the symbol that unites the two cultures.”

Indigenous traditions and symbols are a key part of the art created by Mamani Mamani, who is Aymara. He often says that his inspiration and artistic purpose are to show the cosmovision of the Andean community — and with this mural, he wanted to connect that with the cosmovision of Philadelphia.

One major way in which Mamani Mamani depicts the interconnectedness between Bolivia and Philadelphia is through Pachamama, or Mother Earth — a significant divinity of the Aymara and Quechua peoples.

“Pachamama is the uniting factor, the symbol that unites the two cultures, the two cities and the two countries, as well as the whole world,” he said.

But Mamani Mamani said there are numerous symbols in his creation that show the commonalities between the two places, symbols we all share: the sun and the moon, which represent men and women, and create balance together; and animals that inhabit both lands, and were in many ways the original inhabitants of the lands, such as deer, buffalo, and squirrels.

Those paintings are also his way of showing that everything is alive, deserves respect, and gives respect, Mamani Mamani said.

Mamani Mamani said that a vibrant art style, with his trademark bold colors, is his way of understanding the world.

“I see and feel colors in a really profound way all around me, and this is something I learned from my grandmother, who said, ‘Colors prevent us from getting lost in the darkness,’” he said.

“The main purpose of the mural is to describe the profound experience of being human.”