Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/662005
t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 6 26 SPOTLIGHT HOUSTON-BORN AND RAISED, MARIO ENRIQUE FIGUEROA JR., "GONZO247," ARTIST, FOUNDER AND CHIEF OF OPERATIONS FOR AEROSOL WARFARE, IS KNOWN FOR HIS VIBRANT MURALS THAT CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF HOUSTON, AS WELL AS HIS CREATIVE INVOLVEMENT WITH PROMOTIONS FOR THE HOUSTON ZOO, HOUSTON DYNAMO AND, MOST RECENTLY, THE 2016 NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR. HE SAT DOWN WITH TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF STRATEGY AND OPERATING OFFICER WILLIAM F. McKEON TO REFLECT ON THE HISTORY OF GRAFFITI ART AND HIS OWN PERSONAL JOURNEY FROM AN ANXIOUS YOUNG STREET ARTIST TO A FIXTURE ON HOUSTON'S ART SCENE. Q | Tell us about your formative years. A | I was born and raised here in Houston and am very proud of it. My parents immigrated here from Mexico. My mom is from a very small farming community, right across the border from Brownsville, Matamoros. It's like 10 minutes past the border. My dad comes from further south, an area called Michoacán. Both came to the United States. By sheer luck and the power of God, I was born here in Texas. But I tell people, before I claim to be Mexican, before I claim to be American, I claim to be 100 percent Texan. I am very proud of being from this area, and I try to take Houston and Texas anywhere I go. I grew up here on the east end, Second Ward to be exact, and growing up, we were surrounded by family. Every day we were visiting some other family member. The bulk of my family lived and still lives here in the east end. So it was family, it was church, and always good times. I think I was always artistically inclined. I was always creative, but I didn't start drawing much until I was a little older—I would say seven, eight, nine. One thing that really affected me, and I think really helped me to see something different, was I had family that lived up on Canal Street. And if you have ever driven up the east end in the last 30 years, there is this mural that was painted by now famous artist Leo Tanguma. At the time, it was the biggest mural in Houston, and I believe it was also the biggest mural in Texas. The mural was dedicated in '73, I was born in '72. So pretty much my entire life I saw this mural while driving up and down Canal Street. At that age, the scale of the work was so incredible