The controversial, and now orange wall at Reyes Elementary School will be red, white and blue once again.

This design was previously denied by the developer Hunt Communities because the colors of the flag mural did not fit with the color scheme of the Cimarron community.

“The Hunt corporation kind of led us astray and then kind of kicked us out to the side. We had no where to turn. we did not want to use taxpayer money,” said Laure Searls, CISD board president.
    
Even after hunt gave the green light on the design back in March, the district faced the hurdle of raising over $32,000 to get the mural to look the way the district intended.

CISD was able to raise about $14,000 through a campaign, but thanks to two local aritsts, the money is no longer an issue.
 
“We’re seeing it with artistic eyes, and we know that a mural that simple, doesn’t really need $32,000,” said Ulices Gonzalez, a local artist. Gonzalez and Martin Zubia offered to paint the wall for $5000.

“They were able to meet all of our requirements both in terms of insurance but also in terms of having their own scaffolding, and paint brushes and rollers,” said Shane Griffith, CISD spokesperson.

Zubia and Gonzalez have worked together on murals throughout the Sun City, and say this is just another opportunity for them to promote public art and help out the community..

“There is not a lot of public art. They don’t really support it that much. So we came out with the mission of trying to boost the art scene a little bit, at no cost. We do all these murals because we have a passion for it,” Gonzalez said.

CISD has given the artists 21 days to finish the project, and the artists say that is plenty of time. The mural will be complete for the grand opening of Reyes Elementary School on August 13.

In addition to the generosity of the artists, Sherwin Williams has offered to sell the paint to the district at cost, cutting down costs by 50 percent.  Also, the El Paso Sports Commission has offered to cover the insurance of the two artists, valued at about $1900.

(Information from ElPasoProud.com)