Everything for Everyone and Nothing for Ourselves

Jose Cosme is a Chicano artist based in San Antonio, Texas. His work is influenced by both sides of the US-Mexico border, as well as his previous life experiences. Everything for Everyone and Nothing for Ourselves was his first solo commission, completed at the San Antonio Community College (SAC). A local community program, San Anto, commissioned Cosme to paint the mural with the help of children and volunteers. Intended for a public audience, the major aim of the mural is to provide an educational account of Mexican history to the city’s Chicano, Mexican American, and Mexican immigrant inhabitants.

The mural starts with a colossal Olmec head, referencing the oldest Mesoamerican civilization. It then moves through time, starting with Panel 2, Prophecy and Conquest. Cortés and La Malinche stand in front of an enthroned Mocteczuma, while a comet arcs through the sky behind him, referencing accounts of a prophecy of destruction. Next is Panel 4, A History of Mexico, which is saturated with colonial and revolutionary imagery. In this condensation of time, figures such as the celebrated colonial-era nun, philosopher, and poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz can be seen near revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata. It’s from the Zapatista slogan "todo para todos y nada para nosotros" that Cosme derived the mural’s title. The mural then stretches onward to panel 5, Activism, showing moments in Chicano history, including the formation of the American GI Forum, which was founded in Texas. 

Much like Rivera’s History of Mexico, Cosme’s work brings diverse moments from Mexico’s history together into one consolidated narrative. Cosme quotes Rivera’s contemporary, José Clemente Orozco, copying Orozco’s rendition of Miguel Hidalgo from the Palacio del Gobierno in Guadalajara, Mexico. Cosme also includes another one of “the big three” of Mexican muralism, David Alfaro Siqueiros. He is depicted behind bars, alluding to his revolutionary character. However, time and distance separate Cosme from los tres grandes, as Cosme’s mural not only depicts later historical figures but is also told from a distinctly Chicano perspective, including Chicano leaders and icons, such as Cesar Chavez, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez, and Dolores Huerta. The differences between Rivera and Cosme can also be seen in the ways they reference the pre-Columbian past. In his depiction of the Olmecs, Cosme pulled directly from archeological objects, while Rivera constructed more modernized visions of the pre-Columbian past. 

Cosme presents a multi-layered identity for Mexican Americans, which draws upon ancient, colonial, and revolutionary histories. The mural presents Mexican American identity as a continuation of these complex histories, presenting them as a single struggle against oppression. Continuity with the pre-Columbian past is further underscored by the interweaving of mosaics in the lower register of each panel, including a feathered serpent or the Earth goddess, Tlaltecuhtli. The mural concludes with an image of the Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl, whom Cosme references from the Codex Borbonicus. The white squares surrounding the deity resemble the Mayan glyph EK’, which can signify a star, planet, or constellation. In using both Aztec and Maya imagery, Cosme extends this layering of identities to pre-Columbian civilizations, as well.

Excerpt of "I Am Joaquin"

I am Cuauhtémoc, proud and noble,

leader of men, king of an empire civilized

beyond the dreams of the gachupín Cortés,

who also is the blood, the image of myself.

I am the Maya prince.

I am Nezahualcóyotl, great leader of the Chichimecas.

I am the sword and flame of Cortes the despot

And I am the eagle and serpent of the Aztec civilization.

I owned the land as far as the eye

could see under the Crown of Spain,

and I toiled on my Earth and gave my Indian sweat and blood

for the Spanish master who ruled with tyranny over man and

beast and all that he could trample

But...THE GROUND WAS MINE.

I was both tyrant and slave.

click here to read the entire poem