Cobre, an International muralist visits Bakersfield
November 25, 2019
The city of Bakersfield was visited by Andres Iglesias, an international art muralist from Santa Fe, Argentina. Iglesias is best known in the artistic world by the name of Cobre, which means copper. Iglesias was contacted by the Hub of Bakersfield as an initiative to enrich and improve the town of Bakersfield with this kind of murals.
Civil Rights Activist, Cesar Chavez mural painted by international muralist Cobre. The mural is located downtown at the corner of L and 18th St across from Sequoia Sandwich Company.
According to The Hub of Bakersfield, a nonprofit organization, Iglesias was reached and asked if he could paint a mural for the city. He had some days off before heading to San Francisco to paint an eight-story mural of activist Greta Thunberg.
During his short stay in Bakersfield Cobre painted a mural of United Farm Workers (UFW) founder, Cesar Chavez. It was a homage to Chavez, who according to Iglesias is a person who represents the city of Bakersfield. According to other sources, Iglesias said that he feels connected with Chavez because they both left their comfort zone to seek luck in other places, away from home. Chavez fought for the rights of farmworkers back in the ‘60s and his work and dedication helped improve the conditions that many farmworkers have today.
The mural is located at the corner of L and 18th st, across the street from Sequoias Sandwich Company. The mural is painted in three different tones; black, grey, and white. The technique is called photorealism and is painted very detailed, just like a photo. Cobre was able to start and finish in three days. Cobre used spray paint for his mural, something which can be intricate when it comes to all the small details.
Some of his works include murals in Argentina, Spain and the U.S, where he made a portrait of actor Robin Williams in the city of San Francisco. When it comes to deciding what to paint, Cobre likes to choose a person or figure that resonates with the city where the mural is going to be painted at. The mural of William Robins that Cobre painted a year ago was picked because Williams lived in the Bay Area in his early life. The Williams mural was scheduled to be taken down due to new construction in that area of the city.
