CHAMPAIGN — Food can be the main focus in the smallest moments that carry a family’s history, from generations cooking together, stories shared in the kitchen and traditions honored for years to come.
For Armando Sandoval, the memories of making homemade tortillas with his grandmother are something he has carried from his childhood and into his passion for cooking. Sandoval is the owner of Maize Mexican Grill, which he founded in 2011 and now has three locations across Champaign-Urbana.
The new mural at Maize on Neil Street in Champaign gives those memories a spotlight and invites the community to see their own family’s stories in the artwork.
“When you do something like that, you want to make that connection with people,” he said.
The mural depicts a young girl making tortillas around an open fire, being gently instructed by an older woman. Sandoval said he remembers making tortillas with his grandmother at just five years old. Growing up with his grandparents on a farm in rural Mexico meant they used fresh food for each meal.
Sandoval said some of the fondest childhood memories involve sitting around a clay grill and being taught how to make a fresh tortilla.
“Every time I walk by a grill and I see the fluffy tortilla, I think of my grandmother,” Sandoval said. “She was… very hardworking.”
From then on, Sandoval has made his tortillas from scratch. Now, as a restaurant owner, he said he proudly ensures that each locations’ tortillas are made from scratch every day — the same way his grandmother taught him.
Great art ‘brings people together’
To make his vision come to life, Sandoval worked with local artist Jose Vazquez, who has painted several murals across Champaign-Urbana, from The Scratching Post to Curtis Orchard.
Vazquez said he wanted to materialize Sandoval’s bond with his grandmother and passion for his cultural cuisine.
“He has this huge connection with the food and also just where he came from, his culture,” Vasquez said. “So he really wanted that represented in the mural.”
Sandoval said he worked closely with Vazquez through the artistic process. Still, he was stunned with the way Vazquez visualized a moment so personal.
“Jose just basically read my mind,” Sandoval said. “When there’s a great art piece, it brings people together to talk about it.”
Sandoval said he also wanted to include a smaller detail, with a deeply important meaning to his family. On the left side of the mural, a monarch butterfly flutters near a mortar, which honors those who have died in his and his wife’s families.
“Family is very important,” Sandoval said. “And having just that little butterfly, we see them around. I’m a big believer that those who have passed, that they’re still with us in one way or another.”
Sandoval said he’s received many compliments about the mural, but one response stands out. A man from India told him the image reminded him of his own family memories.
He recalled the man saying: “‘Oh my God the mural is beautiful. I just wanted to tell you that when I saw the mural I saw my grandmother.’”
For Sandoval, the compliment showed how the mural, which is rooted in his Mexican heritage, can resonate with someone from across the globe.
Bringing people together and finding community is exactly what Sandoval hopes the mural will accomplish.
He said that while the mural depicts a moment in time with his grandmother in Mexico, moments just like it are happening across the globe.
“I think that a scene like that just shows us how much similarities we have between each other,” Sandoval said.