Onion Creek Flood Commemoration and Mural Unveiling

The City of Austin will commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the 2013 Onion Creek flood that devastated Onion Creek neighborhoods with the inauguration of a memorial mural in Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, 8652 Nuckols Crossing Rd., on October 28 at 10 a.m. This is an outdoor park event, so please dress accordingly.

The ceremony will take place at the site of the mural near the intersection of Vine Hill and Onion Creek Drives in the park. Speakers will include Mayor Kirk Watson, Council Member Vanessa Fuentes and Travis County Constable George Morales.

The mural is part of a flood resiliency program in response to City Council Resolution No. 20211014-048, affirming the City’s “commitment to building a flood resilient community by addressing current risks, supporting safer regulations, encouraging robust community engagement efforts and emergency preparedness in collaboration with the five-county regional partners.”

The mural was created in collaboration with Onion Creek flood survivors who participated in a series of focus groups with artist Alonso Estrada. The mural is inspired by an ancient Native American myth of a wild white horse that inhabited Onion Creek. It tells the story of the strength of the flood waters and the fortitude of the community members that survived as they struggled to save their neighbors.

The 2013 Onion Creek flood was followed by another flood in 2015 resulting in a City buy-out program to relocate neighborhood residents and return the flood-prone area to nature. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department invested $4 million to establish Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, completed in 2019. 

Austin based artist, Alonso Estrada, was chosen competitively in an open call to complete the work. The project was produced by PARD’s Dougherty Arts Center staff in partnership with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, the Watershed Protection Department, the Office of Resiliency and GAVA (Go Austin Vamos Austin), a community service organization.

For more information contact Laura Esparza at (512)974-4001 or laura.esparza@austintexas.gov.

About Alonso Estrada
Alonso Estrada is a multidisciplinary artist that grew up in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. He has exhibited his work at multiple venues in New York City, Houston, Los Angeles and Genova, Italy. He found inspiration for his artwork in the Day of the Dead tradition of his homeland as well as in the punk rock movement. He expresses these interests in art by mythologizing his environment while interpreting the bold and colorful aesthetic of human emotions.