Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos).
A Conversation with Elton Monroy Durán
Interview & curation by Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos*
In May of 2024, Elton met with Translating Michigan for an interview. The conversation took place at Elton's workshop, where he was working on a series of colorful sculptures depicting alebrijes.
Check out the video with highlights from the interview, as well as the full transcript below
Video Interview
Elton (left) and Emmanuel (right) during the interview in May, 2024, in Southwest Detroit. The video was filmed, produced, and edited by Maurizio Dominguez from Mexicut Films
Full Interview Transcript
About the artist
Elton Monroy Durán (he/him) was born on December 22, 1978, in Sahagun, Hidalgo, Mexico. He grew up in Tula, Hidalgo, one of the most ancient cities in Mexico still inhabited, which is also home to the Toltec Culture. Having been raised in a culturally rich city, he quickly realized he wanted to be an artist, fascinated about the fact that we can learn about the history of extinct civilizations by observing and studying their artistic expressions. Monroy Durán earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the State of Querétaro (1998-2003). He describes himself as a humanist artist with scientific and sociological approaches, which he seeks to convey through his work. In 2016, he started the mural and art company Corpus Art Inc. in Detroit. Since then, he has painted over 24 murals mostly inspired by Latino and Mexican American communities and their stories in the US. Elton has been living and working in Southwest Detroit since 2015.
Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos).
The interview has been edited and condensed in the transcript below.
Interviewer: How would you describe yourself?
Elton Monroy Durán: A lot of people think of me as a muralist because of my murals, but I consider myself as a conceptual artist, instead of just a muralist or a painter.
I: You have a very special story with Detroit. Tell us about how you ended up in Michigan and why that is meaningful to you, and how this experience has influenced your work.
EMD: I ended up in Michigan because I made the decision to move out of Mexico in order to pursue my career as an artist. I had the opportunity to move to Berlin because I used to have a work permit, and I had some benefits. My idea was to move to Germany to try and pursue my artistic career. But, in that process, I received an invitation to come and see Detroit. I discovered that this was the place for me to stay and work. My dream was to become an artist and do art as a living [and] Detroit provided me with a lot of that.
I: In previous interviews, you’ve said that when you came to Detroit, you were surprised by well-organized the Hispanic community was. We rarely hear about how prominent the Hispanic community is in Michigan. One of the things we’re trying to do through Translating Michigan is to precisely challenge the idea that Michigan is this homogenous state by showcasing all the multilingual communities Michigan is home to. How do you think that your migration experience informs your work?
EMD: The first time I moved to Detroit; I didn’t know much about it. Especially because the information that people have access to is creating this idea of Detroit as an image of decay. For a long time, it was considered a ghost town. There is [also] the idea that Detroit is very dangerous, which has been promoted in movies and all that.
I didn’t really have an expectation. I remember the first time I arrived in Detroit was during the winter. I remember seeing the city from the window of the plane. It was actually very cold, and everything was gray. It was a little scary. I was like, “what am I doing here?” I settled in Southwest Detroit, living in a small apartment, and I was painting during the winter. Once the winter was gone, it was like unwrapping a gift, you know? Everything changed and started to get greener.
And then I discovered the Latino community. I was like, “what is this?” I felt like I was in my hometown. It felt like home. A lot of the people, the food, the supermarkets. I discovered that this was a little bit of Mexico. It was very interesting to discover the Southwest area of Detroit, known as “Mexicantown,” where there are a lot of, not only Mexicans but Latinos.
I was here open to the idea of working on anything. My idea was to get a job and earn some money and save to [eventually] move to Germany, which has the world’s largest art market. But I discovered that Detroit was actually flourishing, that a lot of opportunities were available. Here you can actually work as an artist. So, I started applying to [participate in] art fairs and for grant opportunities. Luckily, I've been finding my way.
Elton posing in front of one of the two viaduct murals commissioned by the City of Detroit through the City Walls Program. Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: One of the most striking aspects of your work is that you draw inspiration from Mexico’s history of Muralism. Many would argue that the reason why murals thrived in Mexico after the Revolution was the fact that the artists wanted to transcend this hyper-intellectual art and, [instead,] create art that could be understood by everyday people. [They created] murals that are very descriptive and accessible. These murals also portrayed the artists’ vision for a more equal society. How do you see your work fitting in this broader history of Muralism? And why is it important to you to represent the community, not only by referencing the work of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo here in Detroit, but because you portray real people from the community?
EMD: That’s actually very interesting because I didn’t come here with the intention of painting murals. I was actually painting canvasses. That was the easiest way to bring my art with me. I was working on a series of paintings to promote organ donation. The themes were self-exploration, self-identity, and understanding purpose in life. And how we can go through different layers and find out that the most important thing is not the actual body, but rather what we can do with the body, you know?
Initially, my intention was not representing the Latino community. But, once again, when I arrived in Detroit, it was a surprise finding out that there is such a large Hispanic community here. Actually, I learned that the community started with a group of Mexicans that migrated after the Mexican Revolution.
And to tell you the truth, I was not aware of Diego Rivera’s work in Detroit. It was another discovery. People told me to go see Diego’s murals. And I don’t know. It's been just like an evolving experience for me. When I saw Diego’s work at the Detroit Institute of Arts [DIA], it was very inspiring, you know? There was another artist once here, and he was creating this magnificent work representing Mexicans and representing Mexican art. To me it was like a sign, and a [source of] inspiration, you know?
And then, realizing that I arrived into a community with a lot of Mexicans, and a lot of Latinos. Here, you are actually pushed to read between the lines and try to interpret and understand—but not realizing right away—that you are in a place where a lot of Latinos live. That is what has inspired me to create visual representations of this community and their history. I was like, “I think I have something here. I think I am going to create not a mural but a series of murals depicting different aspects of the community.”
And that’s how I started. The first idea was to paint six murals, and I submitted the application for a Knight Foundation grant. That was actually part of the reason why I decided to move to Detroit, because I now had this project to work on.
After that, I realized I needed to become more organized to manage my funds and create more opportunities. I transitioned from being a freelance artist into becoming a company. I funded my company, called Corpus Inc., and it has been helping me move forward.
‘Revolutionary Women’ mural at Mexican Village Restaurant. Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: You actually donated a beautiful mural that people can go see at the Detroit Historical Museum titled “We the People.” Interestingly, you were working on this mural around the time you were applying to become a U.S. citizen. What’s the significance of this coincidence? What does it mean for how you think of your own identity? But also, what does the mural tell us about your hopes for Detroit?
EMD: As I mentioned, my work revolved around the idea of finding purpose in life. We all experience that. I discovered that sometimes we want to see what our purpose is, but sometimes we don’t. I understood that there was a reason for me to be here in Detroit; it was part of my destiny. I realized that I was brought here to amplify the voices of others. To help others become visible, you know? After all, I was one more immigrant, and I was one of them.
Right around the time when I was about to become a [U.S.] citizen, I received an invitation to contribute to an exhibition at the Detroit Historical Museum called “Looking for America.” So, I decided to create a mural called “We the People.” The idea was…expressing my personal experience going through this process of becoming a [U.S.] citizen, as well as the meaning of becoming a Detroiter. And what it meant to become part of this community; you know?
Detroit is a place where we can find opportunities. And that’s actually something that attracted our people when they first moved here after the [Mexican] Revolution. They wanted a better life for their families when Detroit was offering work. And, if we look at the Constitution, the United States is described as the place where you are going to find opportunities and freedom. This is a place where you should be able to pursue your own happiness. And, you know, I wanted to take it literally. I wanted to take it as my opportunity to represent this concept for that exhibition.
I called it “We the People,” and you can see people from different nationalities building up the Spirit of Detroit. On the foreground, the first elements are children and planting. And why are these children depicted gardening? This [alludes to] Detroit’s history. The city has been through different stages. Detroit was abandoned…like all of a sudden, it was abandoned, harming certain groups of people in the process, you know? People with economic power fled Detroit. They took their businesses [with them] and they left behind the unprotected, and the most vulnerable and poor people. What [Detroiters] did was produce their own food. That’s how urban gardening took hold in Detroit. And I wanted to create this idea of going to the basics [of the Constitution], and what it means for the city.
I: It was precisely during the time that Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo came to Detroit to paint the amazing Detroit Industry Murals at the DIA, which was part of a larger trend in the U.S. when Mexican art became highly praised, we saw a spike in anti-Mexican sentiments. Throughout the 1930s, it is estimated that the U.S. government expelled between 1.8 to over 2 million people of Mexican descent. We know now that at least half of them were American citizens. What can we learn from this?
EMD: It is interesting and that is actually something I got to learn once I moved here. When I was in Mexico, I was not aware of the different events I’ve been learning about Detroit and its community, like the fact that Diego Rivera was here during the time that people were being repatriated, you know?
It is kind of amazing to me. Diego Rivera was here and he was actually helping some people pay for their tickets to return to Mexico, because he was so proud of his country. And after the Revolution, they [muralists] wanted to create a new visual identity for Mexico and its people. And actually, a big part of the work of these muralists was to create a new visual identity to represent what being Mexican means. During that time, he was encouraging people to return to Mexico and help build the new nation.
There is a lot of inconsistency in these different narratives. It is a fascinating phenomenon that, at that time, they [the Ford family] wanted the best muralist in the world to come and represent the best of the auto industry. But, at the same time, they were actually using Mexicans and their labor, and when they no longer needed them, they were sending them back. It’s like utilizing people as if they were a machine. As if they were disposable. I think that my murals are more focused on making people aware of our contributions. And making people aware of the fact that we’re part of this nation. We’re part of this city.
And we’re part of the economic fabric, and the things that are taking place in our society, even nowadays. And that is something that didn’t start yesterday. It started in the 1920s after the [Mexican] Revolution. But, actually, if we think about that…it has to do with a long history even prior to that. Mexico lost half of its territory to a war with the United States. But even before, we are still part…still a result of colonization.
“I think that my murals are more focused on making people aware of our contributions. And making people aware of the fact that we are part of this nation. We’re part of this city.”
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans and Mexican Americans were expelled from Michigan and the broader U.S. during the Great Depression. Retrieved from: http://websites.umich.edu/~ac213/student_projects07/repatriados/index.html.
I: I wanted to talk about your mural at Plaza del Norte, which is very strategically and symbolically located. It is near the Michigan Welcome Center, greeting people coming from the Ambassador Bridge that’s connected to Canada. This is also a place where the first Mexican community was established, which was later split by the construction of the federally funded I-75. And this also turns this part of Detroit into a border town, which is constantly subjected to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) patrolling and even harassment. How do you see all these contradictory factors play out in the mural? What is the symbolism of this mural where you reflect on the broader history of Bagley Street?
EMD: When I decided to paint this series of murals, decided that I wanted to create community-engaged art, which means that the murals are inspired by the community and their stories. Something that I like doing before creating a mural is getting inspiration by learning about the history of that place. And precisely doing this I learned about what exactly had taken place on Bagley Street, and it was shocking. I thought, “how could that happen?” But we see that happen over and over in different ways, you know? And the idea [for the mural] was to represent this place, which was once considered the heart of the community. A space where the Latino community first organized was intentionally wiped out by the I-75 freeway, which means that they got rid of a lot of houses and areas where people used to live in. All of the sudden, it was gone.
To me…this was a shocking set of facts to discover. I wanted to tried to make up for it, and I wanted to make it evident. The [Plaza del Norte] mural contains a lot of elements that speak to Southwest Detroit and Latino community history. When people refer to Mexicantown or Southwest Detroit, some people talk about it as if this was a place where people can experience Mexican cuisine immerse themselves in Latino [culture]. But they don’t realize that it is in Detroit. We’re not outside of Detroit. We’re Detroit, you know? Southwest is actually where [the city] originated. That is where Fort Wayne is located, and even prior to Fort Wayne, this had been sacred land.
I wanted to reconnect Bagley [Street]. I painted a view of Bagley from the other side of the I-75 freeway, and [connecting it to] the other side. Like bringing that side of the street over to this other side in an attempt to reconnect it. Actually, the composition was inspired by Diego Rivera’s composition. But instead of workers I decided to paint people dancing and celebrating. I don’t want to portray my people only as working class, because even though we like to work and work hard, that’s not the only thing we can do. Our contributions should be recognized and appreciated. And the idea of representing Latino people dressed up and very elegant as they celebrate is because we have the right to do so.
“We’re entitled to celebrating that we’re here building our own lives and owning our existence here.”
Elton’s “Reconnecting Bagley Street” mural depicts the site where the Mexican diaspora established the community that would become Mexicantown. The composition is both inspired by and serves as a homage to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s artistic and cultural legacy in Detroit, as well as that of many community members. Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: It could be argued that art is a universal language, and it does not need to be translated. That’s perhaps why Diego Rivera’s murals could be enjoyed by so many. Yet, language plays a huge role in the communities you seek to represent, especially considering how important Spanish is in Southwest Detroit. Some of your murals include language, like the one at the E&L Supermarket parking lot, where you included the phrase “respect for the rights of others is peace” (Spanish: El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz). What is the role of language and translation here, and does that message interact with the mural as a whole?
EMD: This mural is very important in my opinion, and not just because I painted it, but because it depicts the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. This is a mostly American celebration. It is very symbolic, especially to the American people because Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexican Army’s victory over the French during the Battle of Puebla. Mexico defeated the most powerful army in the world, and [prevented it] from marching all the way north and into the United States. That is why the U.S. celebrates Cinco de Mayo, because Mexico defeated the then most powerful army in the world, [and prevented a potential French invasion of the U.S.]. It was a great achievement. I wanted to explain the context of the Cinco de Mayo celebration. A lot of people think Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day; it is not. It was the Battle of Puebla.
I wanted to create elements that could educate people even more. During the time when the Mexican Army defeated the French Army, Benito Juárez was the president. He was actually Mexico’s first indigenous president. One of his most famous phrases was exactly this one, “the respect for the rights of others is peace.” He was actually referring to respect not only between individuals, but between nations. That’s why I wanted to incorporate the phrase into the mural. At the end, these ideas play a different role if we take this phrase and put it into the context that we’re living in.
5 de Mayo Mural at Hacienda and E&L Supermarket depicting Southwest Detroit’s famous Cinco de Mayo parade.Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: I’m glad you touched on the significance of Benito Juárez as Mexico’s first indigenous president. You’ve also explored indigeneity in your work. One of your murals draws inspiration from Huichol art. Michigan in particular is the ancestral land of the Anishinaabe peoples, which reminds us that multilingualism in Michigan goes beyond migration. Why is it important for you to portray indigeneity in your work?
EMD: Well, I want to make evident the fact that Mexican people come from indigenous people. They come from people that first inhabited this land. The idea that Native Americans are different from the Aztecs or Mexicas is wrong. Native people here share a lot with native people down south in Mexico. In another mural [titled “The Duality Mural”], I painted two dancers: one Native American on one side, and an Aztec dancer on the other. And then, in the middle, I painted different representations of Mexicans. My idea was to demonstrate that we come from similar groups. Our ancestors were the first people to inhabit this land. This is something we need to consider all the time. If you look at my DNA, you will find native DNA. You’ll find out that I am connected to a common indigenous ancestry as well as many other Mexicans. I wanted to attest to the fact that this is part of our legacy and our connection to this land.
“You’ll find out that I am connected to a common indigenous ancestry as well as many other Mexicans. I wanted to attest to the fact that this is part of our legacy and our connection to this land.”
The Duality Mural. Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: This brings us back to the piece of art you’re currently working on, which depicts alebrijes. What you’re trying to represent and how does this tie back to these questions of Mexico’s indigenous heritage?
EMD: Alebrijes are creatures made out of other animals’ parts, and they show a lot of patterns and colors incorporating Mexican folklore. They are not something I created. Pedro Linares, who was a Mexican artisan came up with the idea of alebrijes after he had a nightmare with these creatures, which he tried to recreate.
In my opinion, alebrijes symbolize contemporary Mexicans. Mexicans are made of different parts. We were an identity once fragmented and then reconstructed. Like a puzzle. A mix of different parts put back together. After conquistadores came, local culture was dismantled and then put back together, and I think that’s what our identity might mean.
Mural depicting an Alebrije in midtown Detroit. Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: You also worked on a mural on Detroit’s viaducts where you painted opossums. This is also one of the few murals where you included a phrase. In this case, “extinction, as well as racism, is caused by ignorance.” It’s interesting that you’re reflecting on the power of art to educate. But there was an incident you mentioned where that there was some backlash as the message of your mural somehow got “lost in translation” . Can you tell us a little bit about this?
EMD: That was very interesting because I was actually painting alebrijes on the viaduct through the City Walls Program. It was a lot of work. Imagine painting alebrijes, which are figures with a lot of patterns, a lot of colors; it takes a lot of time. I was like, “it is too much.”
Then I decided to switch the composition. I wanted to explore something that I was actually realizing during that time, which was that a lot of people here in America—a lot, but not everyone—have a different conception on tlacuaches or opossums. Tlacuaches is actually what native peoples named these animals. I learned that a lot of people here don’t like them [opossums] because they look like rats. This is because European people were afraid of rats for a long time, as rats caused a lot of diseases in Europe. When they moved to this continent, they saw opossums, an animal that looks like a rat, but bigger, and they didn’t like it, simply because of its appearance. That’s very similar to racism. They decided to reject them instead of learning more about the animal (opossums have little to do with rodents; they are much more related to kangaroos, because they are marsupials).
This shows that [racism and extinction] have to do with education. It has to do with learning and knowing the facts. If people make judgments without knowing the facts and acting on their intuition, that is being passed on. Newer generations actually grew up hating opossums, and thinking that those animals are ugly, and that they look like rats. This perception is very different from that of people in Mexico.
Indigenous people in Mexico learned from opossums. If we see indigenous women carrying their babies on their back, perhaps it’s something that they learned from watching opossums, because they carry their babies after having them in their front pocket. It’s actually very clever. Indigenous people named these animals as tlacuaches. In Mexico, we even refer to our children as “mis tlacuachitos” (my little opossums). This perspective is different from the one in the U.S.
And that is exactly what happens with race. When people don’t know much about specific community members and their history, they just carry these sentiments. Without learning. If people took time to learn the facts and understand, things would be different. And that is why I say that not knowing, ignorance, leads to a lot of problems, like racism. Or extinction.
The incident started when I began painting. I hadn’t considered adding the phrase. I was just going to paint the opossums with feathers. Feathers are a symbol of native people. I wanted to allude to the fact that opossums are one of the most native species in this continent. This is because marsupials coexisted in the same ecosystem, making opossums closer to kangaroos when the continent was different. Then the continent split up and they were separated and evolved differently. This means opossums have been here for way longer. They might be one of the most native species on this continent. So, I wanted to symbolize this by painting feathers, a symbol of native people.
When I started painting the opossums on the viaduct, someone from the railroad company across the street showed up with a cell phone, and said, “my boss wants to talk to you.”
I grabbed the phone, and then this person, who introduced herself as the manager, asked me why I was painting “those things.”
“Because we’re painting a mural” I responded.
Then, she asked, “who gave you permission to do that?”
“The city” [of Detroit], I said.
“I want to talk to the people in charge. I don’t like those animals,” she demanded.
And I was like, “I know!”
To which she responded, “You know what? If you continue painting those animals, I’m going to cover them up.”
And then I said, “okay then. You’re free to do whatever you want, you know? I've been on TV other times, and I can be on TV again.”
The thing is that she could cover up the murals, but the incident precisely confirmed the message of the mural: that racism is caused by ignorance. That’s when I thought of incorporating the phrase to prove my point. So the phrase came after we completing the composition to make my statement even more visible.
“And that is exactly what happens with race. When people don’t know much about specific community members and their history, they just carry these sentiments. Without learning. If people took time to learn the facts and understand, things would be different. And that is why I say that not knowing, ignorance, leads to a lot of problems, like racism. Or extinction.”
Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: In your efforts to educate the public, you’re not only trying to convey messages through your work, but you also conduct tours for K-12 students. You also throw these “painting parties” where you invite people from the community to participate and paint. Why is it important to create art that the community can contribute to?
When I applied for my first Knight Foundation grant, I had the possibility of working on a series of six murals around Detroit. I set out to create community-engaged art. Art that was inspired by the community, where I was going to include community members to be part of this by painting with me.
I organized these “painting parties,” where people were invited to participate and feel that they were part of it. It was important that the community participated, not only by providing ideas or contributing with information, but to give them the opportunity to create the composition and paint with me.
I also started conducting these mural tours explaining what inspired me to create this art, the different elements portrayed in it, and how it connects to the community’s history. It’s been very interesting to see that a lot of schools were interested in doing the tours.
Members of Southwest Detroit’s community painting one of the viaducts. Photo by Julianne Lindsey (JLindseyPhotos), used with Elton's permission.
I: This is the last question I have for you. Obviously, your work centers around Detroit and its history, but you have murals all over the states. There’s one as far as Muskegon in western Michigan. When we think about the fact that Latinos are concentrated not only in this area of the state, but that there are large Hispanic and Latino communities in Traverse City, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, to name a few, what is the importance of your murals when you create art in a community that may not have as many Latinos as Southwest Detroit does? Do you think that the symbolism of representation changes?
EMD: Most of my murals are funded by individuals, you know? Obviously, Mexicans and Latinos are the ones paying for the work, you know? They’re my patrons. The fact that they are deciding to support my art…is because I am somehow representing us. I am representing our community, our people.
I actually painted a mural in Seattle last year. The mural was inspired in Michoacán, the state where the family that funded the mural is from.
At some point I would like to paint a series of murals, like the ones I’ve painted in Detroit, but in every community across the United States, you know? Because our community, our diaspora would not be represented with just one mural or with just one story. We need to tell our different stories. Murals are a good way to represent part of our history.
I: Is there anything else that you’d like to mention before we wrap this up?
EMD: Well, since you were asking me about alebrijes. I am planning on creating a series of alebrijes in form of sculptures that will be placed on Bagley Street. The idea is to reference our identity as Mexicans. But these alebrijes will also be a statement on the contribution of the Latino and Mexican communities to Detroit’s auto industry because the sculptures will be made with car parts. Auto parts decorated as alebrijes.
I: You’ve mentioned that this will be your first public exhibit.
EMD: Although I’ve been painting murals on public spaces, there is someone funding the project. This time, the city is making this possible. The exhibition will not be attached to a building. It’s going to be on the street and will be completely public.
I: Thank you so much for your time! I’m really grateful for your time and for sharing your expertise with us. [I’m sure that] the message you convey in your work will resonate with a lot of people in Detroit and beyond. ¡Muchas gracias!
EMD: ¡Muchas gracias a ti!
“Our community, our diaspora would not be represented with just one mural or with just one story. We need to tell our different stories.”
Bird’s-eye view of Mexicantown’s Bagley Street.
*Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos (he/him) graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, Latin American Studies, and Translation (‘22). Born and raised in Mexico, Emmanuel is now based right outside Detroit and is currently collaborating with Translating Michigan as Program Assistant for the U-M Department of Comparative Literature. As a translator, interpreter, and researcher, Emmanuel has focused on refugee and immigration advocacy, multilingual education, and the promotion of international human rights.