Mariachi mural unveiled at Los Gringos Locos

When Evan Le Grande Wilson called on a local mariachi band for a gig last month, it wasn’t because he loves the blast of the horns playing in unison. He needed models.

Wilson had been tasked with painting a mural for Los Gringos Locos, a restaurant that recently relocated to 631 Foothill Avenue. He decided the mural should have a mariachi theme.

“They kept saying, ‘We play very well,’” Wilson recalled. “And I said, ‘I don’t care how well you play.’”

After posing the musicians inside the restaurant and out in the sunlight, Wilson set about his work, incorporating a concept that has rattled around in his mind for awhile — depicting water coming toward the observer.

On Wednesday, the public saw “Mariachi Mayhem” for the first time. Wilson, 47, of La Crescenta, has had a hand in many other projects in the region. He created the mural at the La Crescenta Library and restored murals at Los Angeles City Hall, the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse and the Fox Theater in Riverside, among others.

-- Bill Kisliuk, Times Community News

Twitter: @bkisliuk