Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

City Orders Removal of Quetzalcoatl Mural from Balboa Park's Centro Cultural de la Raza

Office of Parks and Recreation Rules that Mural of Feathered Snake God and Fertility Goddess Violates California Constitution's No Preference Clause

"The jury's still out on the Egyptian gods on the side of the World Beat Center."

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/22/21335/

It started with the Surfing Madonna mosaic. After the San Diego office of state parks denied a request by the city of Encinitas to place the 10-foot-by-10-foot piece on state land at the entrance to Moonlight Beach, San Diego's own parks authority apparently began fretting about other religious displays on public land. And yesterday, Parks Commissioner Martin Measely's beady little gaze landed on a particular mural adorning the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park.

"At first glance, all you notice are the woman's strangely nipple-free breasts," wheezed Measely in an extremely uncomfortable statement to the press yesterday afternoon. "But once you've studied the mural, it becomes clear that the woman's nether regions are encircled by a rattlesnake tail - a rattlesnake tail covered in feathers. This is a clear reference to the 'feathered serpent' Quetzalcoatl, worshipped for centuries in Central and South America. Indeed, analysis of Teotihuacan iconography shows that the Feathered Serpent was part of a triad of agricultural deities: the Goddess of the Cave symbolizing motherhood, reproduction and life; Tlaloc, god of rain, lightning and thunder; and the feathered serpent, god of vegetational renewal."

Measely nervously cleared his throat and continued. "Today, of course, the majority of Mexican types reverence the woman depicted on The Surfing Madonna mosaic. But 'No Preference' means 'No Preference,' and it would be wrong to give the Goddess of the Cave and her serpentine partner a pass just because they've fallen out of religious fashion. Remember the Winston's Poseidon?"

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss

“This is a top-notch production.”
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1

Office of Parks and Recreation Rules that Mural of Feathered Snake God and Fertility Goddess Violates California Constitution's No Preference Clause

"The jury's still out on the Egyptian gods on the side of the World Beat Center."

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/mar/22/21335/

It started with the Surfing Madonna mosaic. After the San Diego office of state parks denied a request by the city of Encinitas to place the 10-foot-by-10-foot piece on state land at the entrance to Moonlight Beach, San Diego's own parks authority apparently began fretting about other religious displays on public land. And yesterday, Parks Commissioner Martin Measely's beady little gaze landed on a particular mural adorning the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park.

"At first glance, all you notice are the woman's strangely nipple-free breasts," wheezed Measely in an extremely uncomfortable statement to the press yesterday afternoon. "But once you've studied the mural, it becomes clear that the woman's nether regions are encircled by a rattlesnake tail - a rattlesnake tail covered in feathers. This is a clear reference to the 'feathered serpent' Quetzalcoatl, worshipped for centuries in Central and South America. Indeed, analysis of Teotihuacan iconography shows that the Feathered Serpent was part of a triad of agricultural deities: the Goddess of the Cave symbolizing motherhood, reproduction and life; Tlaloc, god of rain, lightning and thunder; and the feathered serpent, god of vegetational renewal."

Measely nervously cleared his throat and continued. "Today, of course, the majority of Mexican types reverence the woman depicted on The Surfing Madonna mosaic. But 'No Preference' means 'No Preference,' and it would be wrong to give the Goddess of the Cave and her serpentine partner a pass just because they've fallen out of religious fashion. Remember the Winston's Poseidon?"

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Picture Story: San Diego's Donovan State Prison Begins Court-Mandated Reduction of Its Inmate Population

Next Article

Police investigating mysterious disappearance of Padres President/CEO Tom Garfinkel

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader