Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada honors doctor killed by Covid-19

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Artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada went all the way to Queens to pay tribute to a health hero

The Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, located in one of the most affected neighborhoods of New York’s Queens City, was the spot where artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada chose to create a large-scale mural. The later pays homage to Dr. Ydelfonso Decoo, who was part of the SOMOS Attention Network Community and died for Covid-19.

Hence, the monumental piece Somos Luz is 20,000 square feet and captures the silhouette of Dr. Decoo with his blue medical uniform and a face mask. Moreover, the health professional was part of SOMOS Community Care, a network run by mainly Latino and Chinese doctors who treat patients from marginalized communities like Queens.

Furthermore, Gerada created this mural with the help of the immigrant rights organization Make the Road New York and The Neighborhood Museum. Thus, the piece is also a memorial in honor of those who lost their lives to Covid-19 at the epicenter of the pandemic; especially those from the African-American and Latino community.

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada dedicates mural to Covid-19 victim, the African-American, and Latino communities

In addition, Rodriguez-Gerada noted that the paint he used for his creation is of high quality and could withstand different climates for some time, so he hopes that the mural “will stay for a while.”

“I want the mural to create a dialogue, I want people to understand that there is a disproportionate number of Latinos and African Americans dying from the coronavirus,” said the artist. A way to raise awareness in citizens about the cultural diversity of Queens, and the care that people must have in the face of the pandemic.

Lastly, he added that many of the population “are the ones who have to go to work and can’t just get quarantined and stay home for two months. So we really have to thank them, and at the same time, when there is so much racial division and normalization of white supremacy, someone has to create something that allows us to cry.”

Finally, don’t miss the piece La Chulapa, an artwork that the artist left in the neighborhoods Tercio and Terol in Madrid.

This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)