La Boca Mexican Restaurant has some of my favorite murals in it. The first time I saw a grown man’s face turn red with his eyes tearing was at La Boca Mexican Restaurant. It was my Uncle and he had just gulped down a jalapeno pepper excited as a little boy. I remember thinking to myself that it was weird that my Uncle was crying. When it was explained to me why he was crying and that these types of peppers are very spicy I asked my uncle why he did this. He said he loved spicy food and that it was really good. As an 8 year old boy I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on with my meal. I never forgot it though and when the opportunity came up to paint some murals for this establishment that had been around for over 30 years I jumped at it! La Boca Mexican Restaurant was moving towards the middle of main street to where Bob’s Surplus used to be. The new address would be 37 Main street Middletown, CT and the new location would promised a new beginning for a restaurant that has outlasted most business on main street. With new beginnings came the opportunity to create some really unique murals. Working with Kristen McCory of Ammati design and La Boca’s marketing team from Social Tuna I was able to add a twist to a tradition Mexican themed restaurant. Using the day of the dead theme I added a modern flair to old photographs creating a younger more hip theme for the bar. This theme would be then taken further from Social Tuna using this idea for all of the marketing of la Boca in the future.
