Photo: Sandra Gonzalez
Eva Mireles is one of the 21 victims killed in the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in May.
Now, her life will be honored in the most beautiful way — a colorful mural was painted in her honor on the Henry D. Osso building in Corpus Christi. Mireles' dedication is one of 21 murals set to be painted in the city as part of a project called "Healing Uvalde" to honor those killed on May 24.
Mireles' mural was painted by local artist Sandra Gonzalez (@sandragonzalezart) with the help of assistants Malachy McKinney and Silvi Ochoa. Volunteers also helped out, including the Mireles family, Eva's friends, Ruth Hui, Anabell Thomas, Rorie Walker, Sage Muniz, Mayra Jischke and Abel Ortiz.
"It has been an honor to be part of the 'Healing Uvalde' mural project, I painted a portrait of Eva Mireles surrounded by her favorite colors, flowers, glowing mountains, and diamond hills. I am a teacher and a muralist; it was important for me to celebrate the life of a teacher who was passionate about education and died as a hero," Gonzalez said in a statement.
Mireles was a Uvalde CISD teacher for about 17 years, according to ABC 10. "I can't say enough about Eva. She was like my sister. Her and I thought a lot alike. She was straightforward. If I was doing something wrong, she was going to tell me," a family spokesperson said.
Gonzalez, a former West Oso ISD employee, said the mural took five days to complete. On the fifth day, Mireles' family visited the site to watch the artists put the finishing touches. "It was an afternoon of labor and love; her family was blasting Eva’s favorite songs while they were taking turns helping me finish this massive mural of 18ft x 30ft," she said.
The San Antonio artist continued, "I tried my best to capture Eva’s essence, she is seen with her open arms holding two flags which one of them says 'Always Strong.' During my days in Uvalde, I witnessed many people admiring the murals and supporting this project. The community was very attentive, always offering and bringing water and food to the artists."
"Healing Uvalde" was created after Mas Cultura founder Monica Maldonado connected with Uvalde artist and professor Abel Ortiz, according to ABC 10. A GoFundMe has been created to raise donations for the project that's expected to be completed in August.