Memoria/Memory (2025) is a monumental mural by artist Rubio located in Houston’s East End made in collaboration with artist Vincent Valdez and an extension of the exhibition Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream. The mural is dedicated to Theresa Santana Valdez (1947–2020), the artist’s mother  and features her  favorite bird and flower. As children, his mother passed down to Vincent and his siblings that a cardinal sighting was an ancestor coming back to visit and guide living family members. 

Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream…, the artist’s first major museum survey spans over two decades of his work, from early career drawings to current allegorical portraits. The exhibition at Contemporary Art Museum Houston (CAMH) was on view from November 15, 2024, through March 23, 2025. As a continuation of the exhibition, CAMH worked in partnership with the East End Cultural District on a Spring Break Mural Intensive project that engaged Vincent Valdez and his early mentor and artist Rubio to work with Houston-area teens, based in the East End. Rubio is the San Antonio muralist who first brought Valdez to mural painting at ten years old. They worked together as friends and colleagues for ten years until Valdez left Texas for art school. The Spring Break Mural Intensive continues this legacy of mentorship and passes along the tradition of mural painting to a new generation. 

A special thanks to the student assistants on this project: Cherie Azua, Saj Baldwin Evans McNallan, Marisol Dayana Pinales, Karoline Hazel Escamilla, Camila Patricia Metyko, Robert Miranda, Anjali Morua, Jenny Nohemi Coreas Vasquez, Ereni Ramirez, and Michelle Ramirez with extra support from Carlos Mendoza.