{"id":634023,"date":"2026-08-12T23:33:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T23:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/634023\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T23:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T23:33:10","slug":"jaguar-azul-exhibit-to-bring-spirit-and-color-to-city-arts-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/634023\/","title":{"rendered":"“Jaguar Azul” exhibit to bring spirit and color to City Arts Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Arts Gallery is inviting visitors to step into the world of color, light and spirit with the unveiling of their latest exhibit, \u201cJaguar Azul\u201d featuring art from Sal Garcia.<\/p>\n

The unveiling of \u201cJaguar Azul\u201d will take place during the Art Walk on Friday, Aug. 14 at City Arts Gallery, 420 Virginia St.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually stunning. (His) work should be seen in person. There\u2019s nothing you can see online that would do it justice,\u201d said Vallejo artist and filmmaker TJ Walkup. \u201cHis work speaks sub-textually to his shamanistic view of the world. I think it\u2019s incredibly unique for people to see a collection of work like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibit will also feature newer works by emerging artists displayed on the opposite side of the wall at City Arts Gallery. Another installation, \u201cInspirations,\u201d will feature art from Linda Baehr and Caroline Takeda.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists who haven\u2019t had a lot of opportunities to show or had a longer career, will give them the opportunity to do that,\u201d said Walkup. \u201cThe fact that (Garcia) is humble enough to do that, to reach back to the community, is really important for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia is a celebrated painter, sculptor, printmaker and jewelry artist and a Vallejo resident.<\/p>\n

He is also a friend of Carmen Slack, executive director of Solano County Arts Council.<\/p>\n

Slack met Garcia four years ago through Garcia\u2019s wife, Lori.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing grant work with the Hewlett Foundation and we met, we worked together, and Lori introduced me to Sal,\u201d said Slack.<\/p>\n

\u201cJaguar Azul,\u201d also known in English as \u201cThe Blue Jaguar,\u201d is a shamanic figure associated with magic and healing. The Jaguar Azul serves as Sal Garcia\u2019s personal muse.<\/p>\n

Although his artwork centers on color, light and symbolism, Slack said it also serves as a reminder that Indigenous Nations and art are very much present.<\/p>\n

An activist, Garcia participated in the Chicano Rights and Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Rights Movements throughout the sixties, seventies and eighties.<\/p>\n

Both Garcia and Slack were part of the American Indian Movement (AIM), a Native American civil rights and activist organization founded in Minneapolis in the late sixties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more than 50 tribes in Mexico. The Aztecs, the Mayans, still exist today. It\u2019s very important to keep people knowing that tribes, the language, the culture and Native Americans are still present. (California) was part of Mexico,\u201d said Slack.<\/p>\n

Slack said \u201cJaguar Azul\u201d is also significant because of Vallejo\u2019s large Latino community.<\/p>\n

According to the United States Census<\/a>, the Latino \/ Hispanic community make up 29.8% of Vallejo\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

His work is also influenced by his love of color and pre-Colombian design, as well as the art and mythology of native tribes of the Americas.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe new Jaguar Azul exhibit by Sal Garcia at City Arts Gallery in downtown Vallejo opens Friday for Art Walk. (Chris Riley\/Times-Herald)<\/p>\n

His travels throughout the world including China, Japan, Mexico, Spain, North Africa and the American Southwest have also influenced his work.<\/p>\n

Although he was born in San Antonio, Texas and grew up in Fresno, Calif., Garcia has lived and worked in the Bay Area for the last four decades.<\/p>\n

He designed posters for organizations Radio Bilingue and Centro La Familia, along with the City of Berkeley for their first Indigenous Peoples Day.<\/p>\n

Sal previously worked at Galer\u00eda de la Raza in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District, where he curated numerous exhibitions. He also designed album covers and developed a friendship with Bay Area Latin rock legend Carlos Santana.<\/p>\n

According to a City Arts Gallery press release, \u201cHis distinctive artwork has been featured on Santana album releases, including \u2018Ceremony: Remixes & Rarities\u2019 and \u2018Blessings and Miracles\u2019, reflecting the powerful connection between his visual art and the music that has inspired generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slack encourages visitors to stop by City Arts Gallery to meet new people, view the artwork and, perhaps, catch a glimpse of Carlos Santana.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t unusual for Santana to come and buy and see art in Vallejo,\u201d said Slack.<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWhen you see the art in person, you\u2019ll be surprised with all its detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia will speak about his love of pre-Colombian design and color at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City Arts Gallery is inviting visitors to step into the world of color, light and spirit with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,1374,366,18,117,3124,19,17,3136,5,105156,9878,268018,9852,268019],"class_list":["post-634023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-california","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-events","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-north-bay","tag-northern-california","tag-solano-county","tag-things-to-do","tag-vallejo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117085157341568362","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}