The plaque reads:
RTD
Art-In-Transit Program
Mestizaje
From the merging of the indigenous people of Mexico and the Spanish came a new race known as "Mestizos" (people of mixed blood). The tri-faced head is "La Raza," culture's most venerable icon of self-identity. Another symbol of cultural self-assertion is the Aztec eagle, the logo originally used by the farm workers union, whose "Si se puede" (Yes , we can) has become the motto of those seeking human rights. The symbols on the collar of the Mestizo/Mestiza head represent the four hands of racial unity and the people of the four directions. Maiz is the "staff of life" of the Americas. The feathered serpent symbolizes the pre-Hispanic God of Culture, Quetzalqoatl. In the spirit of the song "De Colores", are the background rainbow colors of "La Raza Cosmica de Aztlan."
Emanuel Martinez
Sculptor
June 2013
"The sculpture is a synthesis of images that represents Mexican culture through the 1960s civil rights movement, to the United Farm Workers labor struggle and the urban Chicano movement. The sculpture is located on the lawn north of the station plaza. " (from (
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"Born in Denver, Colorado, Emanuel Martinez began his artistic pursuits as a means of escape from an oppressive childhood. As a forerunner of the contemporary mural movement that began in the late 60's, Emanuel worked in the civil rights movement with Cesar Chavez and other prominent leaders. Three of the art works he did in that era are now in the permanent collection of The Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
The work of this prolific, highly versatile artist has won him numerous awards: including the Colorado Governors Award For Excellence in the Arts(1985), the Denver Mayors Award for Excellence in the Arts(1995) and the Denver Civil Rights award in 2001. Andrew Connors, a former curator at the National Museum of American Art states in a published book on Emanuel's work; "As an educator and community activist, Martinez has especially helped young people find ways to make their voices heard. We can all find parts of ourselves of our dreams in his artwork because he recreates the triumphs of the individual and at the same time affirms a collective identity in his murals, paintings, prints and sculptures. As an artist Emanuel acts locally with a significance that is national." " (from (
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