1923 - 1996

This ceramic mural is the work of Guillermo Granizo, a native San Francisco Artist. Shortly after Guillermo's birth in 1923 the Granizo Family moved to Nicaragua for a period of eleven years. The family then returned to San Francisco. Extensive travel and research in Mexico and Central America in 1958 has provided flavor of many of his works.
This mural depicts the arrival of the San Carlos in San Francisco Bay while presenting at the same time the arrival of the military representative of Spain, Juan Bautista de Anza, and Father Jumipero (sic) Serra to symbolize the bringing of the Good News of the Christian Gospel to the natives of California. Father Serra holds in his hand a plan for the facade of Mission Dolores.
The sails of the ship tell the story of the coming of civilization to the area. Rey signifies the Spanish sponsorship of the colonization; Dios the spiritual element brought by the Franciscan Fathers; Pueblo the city of San Francisco that was to grow out of this expedition; and Muerte to indicated the gradual disappearance of the Native people of this area. The artist then asks himself, ?Quien Sabe? What would have happened it civilization has not come; if the people who inhabited this land had been left to themselves? He leaves the answer to the imagination of the viewer.
The green area surrounded by brown in the lower left of the mural represents the island of Alcaraz, and the pelicans symbolize the same island in San Francisco Bay.
We are grateful to the artist for placing this mural on extended loan to Mission Dolores since 1984.

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