East End Stories

Few people know that one of the most iconic murals that reflects the struggles of Hispanic Americans during the 1960s and 1970s is located in the historic East End neighborhood of Houston. The creator of this massive 240-foot mural is a self-made artist from South Texas. His name, Leopoldo Tanguma, better known as Leo. Artists and muralist Leo Tanguma was born to Texas farm workers with Mexican ancestors in Beeville, Texas, a small and underdeveloped town located right in the middle of Corpus Christi and San Antonio. He started his life-long art career at the very young age of eight using a pencil and pieces of card boxes to draw promising portraits of his friends. But, the hardships endured by Latino-Americans inspired his art.