Two towering sculptures — “El Papalote” (The Kite) and “El Trompo” (The Top) — have brought color and history to the West Side of San Antonio. In what’s currently a maze of construction, the art pieces adorn the roadways feeding into bridges seen as the entrances to the West Side.
They popped up on the intersection of West Commerce Street and North Frio Street in May and were officially dedicated on Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Together, they represent two favorite pastimes, a spinning top and using newspapers, like the historic La Prensa as a kite.
The designer, Joe R. Villarreal, 71, is a San Antonio native. His past work has provided vibrant colors to Bexar County. Several paintings are displayed in Ray’s Dine Inn, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, and even included in the “Hall of Mayors” in the Municipal Plaza Building in San Antonio.
Villarreal recalled as a child collecting water, flour, sticks and local newspapers to create his flying kites. La Prensa was established in 1913 and is the first and oldest bilingual publication in the state of Texas.
“I knew the gentleman from La Prensa, and he bought some of my paintings and said, "Why not use this newspaper for painting?” Villarreal explained. “I immortalized it, and hopefully people will enjoy it every day of their lives.”
Villarreal has created many paintings conveying joy and nostalgia, but four walls surround those art pieces indoors. He explained that the goal of these pieces is to create a public art piece that could be shown to people for generations.
“These were created from the times that we were young. We used to play these games, and a lot of them are gone, but not forgotten,” Villarreal added.
Villarreal said he wants to encourage parents and grandparents to “educate the younger family members and show them or tell them how they were made.”
These sculptures weren’t DIY created at home with flour and water. With the help from Simon and Autumn Saleh from a San Antonio metal design shop, Wanderlust Ironworks, Villarreal was able to turn his dream art piece into a reality.
“He's brought something that's nostalgic and really strikes a chord with a lot of people,” said Simon Saleh. “It’s just very San Antonio.”
This project took about seven months to complete.
“We go pick up metal, and we start forming and welding it together,” said Autumn Saleh. “But we get to make a lot of aesthetic decisions as we go. Also what's possible [and] what's not possible in a painting, but in the physical world.”
According to Simon Saleh, “Most of it is steel — kind of thick — so that it lasts for 30 years or longer.”
“El Trompo” is a vintage spinning top thrown from a string wound around its body.
Jorge Alcoz is a San Antonian who is fascinated by the spinning game, also known as “Tops.” When he passed through Commerce in May, he spotted the bright colors and familiar shape, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“It's like pinching myself. I’ve seen other giant sculptures in Spain — close to Barcelona there’s a wooden one that's about the same size," he said. “But it was so close to me. That was amazing. I love the colors — so bright.”
Alcoz is from Uruguay and has lived in San Antonio for more than 25 years. He also started one of the oldest forums online for Tops back in 2004 called iTopSpin.com.
“I used to be [a] competitive player. I also am a pretty big collector. I actually go around the world for Tops festivals,” he explained.
The Tops conventions have taken Alcoz to India and Spain, among other places, where he would speak about the impact of the Tops culture around the world, including the U.S.
“It was a rite of passage for all boys in the United States until World War II,” Alcoz said. “Europe too has a long tradition, but it's very difficult to find documents … because some history books don't write about these types of things.”
The sculptures left people with smiles. But they left the conference with concern.
Villarreal passed out after speaking at the podium, possibly because of the mid-morning heat. EMS arrived, and he was taken to the hospital.
But Villarreal was released shortly thereafter and said he was doing well.
