On the Wings of Music We Discover Salvation
The mural on the Rialto’s backstage door, in Salvador Duran’s own words
Most murals don’t come with an explanation. This one does.
The mural on the backstage door of the Rialto Theatre at 318 E. Congress was painted by Salvador Duran in 2008, and he wrote out exactly what he put there and why. It’s one of the more detailed artist statements in the archive.
The imagery is dense: two winged figures playing cello and violin represent the push and pull between instinct and consciousness; a pianist whose notes escape as birds; a raven for ancestral music and a hawk for Arizona identity; a hummingbird for musicians who have passed on. A skeleton at the center reaches toward a cardinal female figure representing the earth’s reproductive power. Cubist and Futurist influences run through the whole thing. Duran notes it’s best seen from a medium distance — right as you’re walking out onto the stage.
📍 318 E. Congress St · Downtown · 2008