← Selected Work  /  Public Art  /  01
City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture • 2024

The Echoes
of Market
Square

A monumental public-art series rooted in the history, traditions and people of Historic Market Square.

The Echoes of Market Square murals beneath the Market Square underpass in San Antonio
LocationHistoric Market Square
San Antonio, Texas
CommissionCity of San Antonio
Department of Arts & Culture
CollaborationEva Marengo Sanchez
+ Mike “Comp” Arguello
MediumSpray Paint
+ Acrylic
The Project

History
made
public.

Created for Historic Market Square, The Echoes of Market Square celebrates the people, traditions and everyday culture that have shaped one of San Antonio’s most recognizable gathering places.

Developed as a collaboration with artist Eva Marengo Sanchez, the installation spans eight monumental columns beneath the highway at The Pass. Each artist designed four columns. Mike’s imagery draws from Market Square history, food, music, celebration and family, combining portraiture with bold graphic color across the architecture.

The result is less a single mural than a sequence of stories — images meant to be encountered while walking through the space, with the structure itself becoming part of the experience.

8Total columns
4Designed + painted by Mike
32Mural surfaces across the installation
Market Square produce vendor portrait mural by Mike Comp Arguello
Portraiture + everyday Market Square historyThe Echoes of Market Square • 2024
Research + Community

Listening
before
painting.

The project required a different process from a typical commercial mural. Mike and Eva spent months researching Market Square, reviewing historical material and listening to the memories and ideas of people connected to the market before the designs moved through the City’s public-art review process.

San Antonio Magazine reported that the artists researched archives at UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures and met with Market Square tenants as they developed the work. Mike’s contributions focused on the market’s past, while Eva’s looked toward its present life.

“It’s so surreal to know that people will have their pictures taken with our art.”
Family + Dedication

More than
a mural.

One of the figures painted into Echoes is Mike’s daughter, Logan. Including her connected his own family story to a public artwork built around generations of San Antonio culture.

The dedication brought that connection full circle. Mike and Logan celebrated the completed work with family and community at Historic Market Square — including Mike’s grandparents, who were able to see the project dedicated in person.

Historic Market Square • Dedication / Fiesta de los Reyes • 2024
Mike Comp Arguello carrying his daughter Logan in front of her Echoes of Market Square mural portrait
Mike Comp Arguello, Logan and family at the Echoes of Market Square dedicationMike Comp Arguello and Logan on stage during the Echoes of Market Square dedication
Press + Interviews

Read
more.

Coverage and official references directly connected to The Echoes of Market Square. These links open the original publisher or City pages.

San Antonio Magazine • 20247 Major Public Art Works Unveiled by City — featuring Echoes of Market SquareOPEN ARTICLE ↗ Hoodline • 2024New Murals “The Echoes of Market Square” Brighten San Antonio’s Historic SiteOPEN ARTICLE ↗ City of San Antonio • Public Art Archive • 202630 Years of Public Art Walking Tour — Echoes of Market Square featured by the CityOPEN ARCHIVE ↗ Visit San Antonio • 2025Made in San Antonio — profile featuring Mike’s Market Square workOPEN PROFILE ↗
Back toSelected Work ←Next projectPikin Quiroga →