Kenny Be's Sign Language: You're invited to a gigantic guitar art party in Westwood

The tiara-topped, oversized red guitar sitting on the new Westwood welcome sign seems to have magically appeared out of nowhere last weekend, but it has actually been over ten years in the making. The newly landscaped corner lot where Morrison Road meets South Sheridan Blvd. was originally part and parcel...

By Kenny Be

November 12, 2009

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The tiara-topped, oversized red guitar sitting on the new Westwood welcome sign seems to have magically appeared out of nowhere last weekend, but it has actually been over ten years in the making.

The newly landscaped corner lot where Morrison Road meets South Sheridan Blvd. was originally part and parcel of a neighborhood bond issue approved by Denver voters way back in 1998. What was once a weed-filled vacant lot is now "Un Corrido Para La Gente," Denver artist Carlos Fresquez's public art assemblage of sculptural forms inspired by items found in neighborhood shops. The big guitar connects to a super-sized shovel through a kinetic papel picado, designed to swing in the breeze.

The outsize art perfectly captures the bigger-than-life-sized dreams of the neighborhood and deserves a proper party. The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs' Public Art Program is hosting a dedication of "Un Corrido Para La Gente (A Ballad for the People)" on Friday, November 13, from 3 to 4 p.m. Everyone is invited to stop by and celebrate with artist Carlos Fresquez. Westwood celebrities Jerrilie Bylsma and city councilman Paul Lopez will also be joined by beloved city cultural stars Erin Trapp, Rudi Cerri, Avon Carey, Pauline Herrera, Kendall Peterson, Gina Rubano, Kevin Scott, Mary Valdez and Ginger White. It'll be the perfect time to shoot the breeze and activate the papel picado.

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