New Gonzales mayor Anzaldua sworn into office during ceremony

New Gonzales Mayor Isaac Anzaldua was sworn in to office Thursday, May 8, during the regular City Council meeting that evening.

Afterwards, Anzaldua presided over his first meeting, during which the council voted unanimously to support a proposal by Gonzales Main Street to create a mosaic mural that would be installed on the exterior wall of the restrooms at the fire station.

Swearing in a new mayor

City residents and officials gathered outside City Hall an hour before the meeting for a 10-minute ceremony during which a blessing was said for both Anzaldua and outgoing Mayor Steve Sucher and their families. The Gonzales NJROTC presented the colors and the Gonzales Apache Band performed the national anthem.

County Judge Pat Davis then administered the oath of office to Anzaldua, who was flanked by his wife Kena and their children.
“It's a wonderful day, a wonderful time for Gonzales. Lot of great things are coming,” Anzaldua said. “Steve and Linda Kay, thank you for everything you've done. Thank you for all the time you were here and the hours you invested in this community.

“I love you, Gonzales. Thank you for believing. Thank you for taking the chance. Thank you for giving me the opportunity and knowing where we we want to go and in what direction. Great things to come. We're going to celebrate our history and get ready for our future. This is the greatest city in Texas and you're all about to find out why.”

During the official changeover earlier inside, Sucher addressed all present, saying “I wanted to just say a few words of thanks to my fellow city council members, to the executive team for the city of Gonzales, to the employees of the city of Gonzales, to the department heads of the city of Gonzales. And I wanted to also acknowledge with special appreciation, my wife Linda Kay, my family, my wife's family and extended family and my friends.”

Mosaic mural

Main Street Director Tiffany Hutchinson-Padilla said the group “would like to propose a meaningful and lasting public art initiative in celebration of our community and its shared story.”

“We are seeking your approval to begin work with Mural Mosaic, which is a nationally recognized art group, to create a conceptual design for a mosaic mural to be installed on the west side of the fire station,” Hutchison-Padilla said.

The design would be brought back to council for approval at a later date, she added.

“Since 2003 Mural Mosaic has been connecting communities, businesses, schools and teams through collaborative art,” Hutchinson-Padilla said. “Their mission is unity through diversity this deeply aligns with our own values. Their mosaic murals are not just an art piece. They're a community connector built, tile by tile, with each contribution representing a voice in a larger story.”

She said the project will take on greater meaning as Gonzales celebrates its bicentennial in 2025.

“A milestone like this should not just look back,” Hutchinson-Padilla said. “It should bring the community together to celebrate a larger collective, capturing our own moment in time. So this mural would be a tribute to the Gonzales legacy, our people, our culture, our history, and a vision of who we are together right now.”

The mural is an eight-foot by eight-foot mosaic, made up of many four-inch by four-inch tiles, using a conceptual design that would be unique to the community. On about 300 of those tiles, “the community gets to paint what Gonzalez means to them,” Hutchinson-Padilla said.

“Each tile would come with a color scheme,” she added. “The idea is to get civic groups, school groups, community groups or businesses to paint what Gonzales means to them on a tile using the color scheme that's given to them in the package.”

Hutchinson-Padilla said the artist will digitize the mural online so everyone can go to the website, click on each individual tile and see what the picture is and who created it.

“This mural would deeply involve our residents with individuals of all ages contributing to the creation of the piece by painting individual tiles,” she said. “It would celebrate 200 years of history while leaving a vibrant and lasting symbol of community pride. It would add a visually compelling landmark to the downtown area, encouraging engagement and tourism.”

The fire station wall was chosen because of its location facing St. Joseph Street and how it affords the ability for people to park and walk up to look at the individual tiles of the mural.

“This isn't just about beautifying a wall,” she added. “It's about bringing people together. It's about preserving memory and creating something built by the community, for the community and by the community.”

Hutchison-Padilla said the cost of the mural will be about $16,000 and Main Street will go out for sponsors within the community to help pay that cost or may look to the CVB for Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funding for tourism. She doesn’t envision the community members who will be painting the tiles to have to pay for them.

Anzaldua said there are “multiple groups here in Gonzales, far beyond just your high name ones.”

“I'd love to see us begin to reach out and see how many we can get involved,” he said. “It's a great idea. I love the idea. I think it's beautiful. It's a wonderful idea.”

Production of the mural can take up to nine to 18 months, depending on the complexity of the design and the length of time it takes for community members to complete their tiles. However, installation by the artist and his team only takes about two to three days.