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From the moment an usher guides you to your seat in the Howard Drew Theatre for American Mariachi, you’re captivated by a gorgeous color-soaked set running the width of room, adorned with flower trimmed doorways, photos and candles resembling ofrenda, lights strung from the ceiling, and two vibrant murals bookending the playing space.
The striking pieces, in addition to a third mural hung at the rear of the theatre behind the audience, are the work of guest artist and Omaha-based muralist Hugo Zamorano.
As a kid, Hugo took to art almost immediately, going on to participate in the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program during High School and graduate with his art degree from UNO. He’s made a career as a muralist and is in high demand for art projects and collaborations.
He created his murals in the scene shop at OCP, working three to four hours each day, layer upon layer. Hugo kindly took time to talk with us about his vision and process.
What attracted you to joining the creative team for American Mariachi?
Being Mexican American, it’s part of my culture. Going to a family party or to an event you always hear the music. It’s also nice to be part of something I can relate to in one way or another and for me, that makes my job as the artist a little easier because I have a more direct way of tapping into what that artistic vision is, and what’s going to be produced at the end of the day. So, just a little bit more to pull from.
In the early stages of the process, the director has a vision, and the scenic designer has a vision. What was the process like for you in terms of creating the vision for your murals? Did you drive the vision and work with them or vice versa?
Trying to bring everyone’s vision together is what can be a little difficult. I had the idea of what I thought would be good in my head and after reading the script I got a little bit more detail of what I wanted to depict, or an overall sense of the theme for the artwork I was going to be creating.
I did some sketches, and I talked to Alex [Rodriguez] about it a little bit and then we looked them over. Jackie [Fox] looked them over and she and I talked about what her vision was and what she was thinking about when she thought of murals for the set.
Then we got into a conversation about what “mural” is, or what people tend to think of when they think of mural, and my experiences of mural making. And sometimes it’s debatable as far as what’s mural and what’s street art. For me there was a style difference [between the two].
Jackie was looking for more of a street art inspired style. And she had some examples of what she was thinking of from her trips to Oaxaca and Mexico City, so that’s when I got a better idea, looking at the murals over there – the style the street art influence in murals and the style that maybe would be good for the show.
What’s the intersection of your murals and the story of American Mariachi?
At the end of the day for me, a mural tells a story. This painting is part of a grander story that’s being told on stage and to do what I think is a more traditional mural style of artwork, I felt like it would have been too much detail for the set, for the story that’s already going to be told.
Essentially, the mural [traditionally] would be telling its own story with different images and so that’s what I always want to do – cram it with images. But with this project I don’t want to put too much in because of time restrictions and then, again, we’re looking at play. We’re not here to necessarily see a mural and come stare at a mural. We’re going to be focused on what’s going on onstage.
The figures you’ve created are striking and evoke all sorts of emotion. We see the connection to the story represented in them.
So, there was the Tia Carmen figure, which was also sort of a ghost or even a death type figure because Tia Carmen would appear when the mother was having episodes of dementia. Then the violin, which is one of the instruments.
And the fact that Mariachi was mainly men for so long – that tradition – then there was the revolutionary act which was an all-women Mariachi. So what I put in is an image that I would see often in different restaurants, especially when living in Los Angeles. There was this painting of a male figure playing a guitar and a woman sort of laying down listening. I’m not sure what the story behind that painting is, but I know it’s a very popular image because I would see it a lot. That provided some inspiration. In the second mural the woman is now playing the instrument because that’s the struggle in this play. I always try to have the struggle – the positive, the negative – in the artwork that I do.
Here you’re fitting into a story that’s already being told, and your art is supporting that story vs. telling the full story in the art which you would typically do with a mural. Is this the first time you’ve approached your work in this way?
The first time I was in a play was in 2019 and I was an actor. It was Epic by Ellen Struve and with the Great Plains Theatre Conference at the time. The second one was with Omaha Performing Arts at the Orpheum. It was a one-day performance, but they gave me the opportunity to design the set and paint the backdrop for the set, so that was a really cool experience.
I worked with the Ollie Webb Center for a series of workshops where we did an offrenda for a ghost stories play they did. The other one I painted was a backdrop for Anastasis Theatre Company for More Than a Number.
You mentioned that often murals in Hispanic culture incorporate many colors and this is different because it’s more monochromatic. Could you talk about that choice?
At the end of the day, it’s everyone’s vision, but mainly the scenic designer’s vision. And also, we have lights involved, so the lights have plenty of color, plus the costumes. And so, they wanted to keep that monochromatic look.
For me it wasn’t difficult because I like working in monochromatic. It frees me up a little bit. Sometimes with color there’s too many choices involved, so the restriction can be liberating. Style wise, too, it was also very different.
Was that challenging in a way for you?
No, I think the most the most challenging was just painting on the surface, because I was using a brush. Otherwise, I would use a spray gun or spray can, but it would create too many fumes inside a shop [at OCP]. That was really the hardest part.
So, using a brush isn’t typical for you when you’re creating your murals.
Depending on what type of work I’m doing. The style for this is all line work there’s no soft shading involved. Because of the surface of the wall, it was difficult to get what I call a clean line.
When did you decide that art was your path? Has art always been part of your life?
It really has. Up until third grade it’s what I wanted to do consistently over time. In Middle School I took an elective class and that’s when I saw the tips my teacher gave me with drawing – draw what you see not what you think is there. It went a long way for me with figure drawing, and that stuck. She asked me if I wanted to join the advanced class.
Have you had mentors throughout your journey who have inspired you?
In High School I was in the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program, so in that program you get to work with working artists. I got to meet people like Wanda Ewing, and she was a big mentor of mine, even at UNO. When she was with Kent Bellows, I had her as a mentor, then she announced she was on the tenure track at UNO. I was probably in my Junior or Senior year of High School at that time and so going to UNO I was able to have her as a counselor. Westin Thompson, he would always pull me into different projects, even after I was done with the program. Then after working with murals, Richard Harrison was a really big mentor and showed me a lot of things, businesswise and painting.
How do you get yourself in the right creative space to start working?
Usually, a light breakfast and some conversation. Listening to a podcast on Spotify, a song, or a lecture on YouTube. Getting my brain moving a little bit. And then I start sketching.
Follow Hugo Zamorano on Instagram @juixer
