An urban artist known as Snoke has painted a mural honoring the 49-year-old woman who gave her life to protect her granddaughter when a gas tanker exploded last week.
The painting pays tribute to Alicia Matías, who suffered burns on 98% of her body after turning and covering up the 2-year-old girl during the horrific accident that occurred in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa on Sept. 10. Alicia died two days later.
The mural — painted alongside a pedestrian bridge just a few meters from the site of the explosion — is dominated by a huge figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose mantle covers Alicia, who is rendered with angel wings and carrying her granddaughter.
“I’m painting her with great affection and respect,” said Snoke, 33, “because I’m depicting a person who performed a very courageous and loving act.”
The artist, who has been street painting since he was 19, thanked the owners of the building who granted permission for the mural and veteran graffiti artist Yonerone who donated the materials and paid for the scaffolding.
Next to the mural, a memorial to the victims — the death toll has risen to 15, but several of the 90 victims remain in critical condition — continues to grow. In addition to flowers and candles, someone wrote in large script “Santa Martha is in mourning.” Santa Martha is the neighborhood where the explosion occurred.
On Monday, Alicia’s granddaughter was transferred to the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston, Texas, with the help of the Michou y Mau Foundation — a Mexican non-profit that provides comprehensive medical and rehabilitation support to children with severe burns.
The child was in delicate, but stable condition, on Monday after undergoing surgery at Mexico City’s Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI over the weekend. She will receive specialized treatment at Shriners, which is a non-profit pediatric hospital.
The Mexico City and México state governments are providing financial support to victims of the tragedy. The governments are also paying the funeral expenses for those who have died.
Mayor Clara Brugada said some families of victims have received stipends of 20,000 pesos, while others have been given 50,000 pesos. Brugada said the funds are just “initial support” and reparations will eventually be provided by Grupo Tomza, the owner of the tanker.
The digital newspaper Animal Político reported on Tuesday that neither Grupo Tomza nor its insurance companies had been in touch with victims’ families. Initial reports after the accident indicated Tomza did not have insurance, but the company issued a statement claiming it had activated three insurance policies to pay reparations.
With reports from El Financiero, Milenio, Proceso, El Universal and Animal Político
