The mural took about nine and a half years to finish, but for Frederic Vigil, it was definitely worth the wait. At 64-years-old, the Santa Fe artist finished the work he started with the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico to create a mural that covers nearly 4,000 square feet of walls that stretches up a 45-foot ceiling. The result was Mundos de Mestizaje: The Miracle Wall, which is filled with images of 3,000 years of Latino history. According to Albuquerque Arts, it took seven historians and scholars, including Vigil, two and a half years to come up with the images and have them approved. Vigil used the art form of buon fresco–a mural technique than can last thousands of years and requires paint to be applied quickly to plaster while it is still wet. As Vigil told AARP, "you are infusing image and color not on but into the walls while they are still alive, still wet."

Vigil explained the title, saying that ‘Mestizaje’ is about the blending of heritage and cultures. Why ‘Miracle Wall’ ? Because it’s a miracle it ever got finished.

Much love and respect goes out to Frederico Vigil who created this amazing piece of history. In the artist’s own words: "It’s a tribute to Hispanic connectedness, to the global mix of cultures-Roman Arab, African, Jewish, Native American–that makes us who we are today. You could never capture the richness of that diversity in a smaller space."

We’re ending the day as often as possible by celebrating love. We welcome your ideas for posts. Send suggestions to [email protected], and be sure to put Celebrate Love in the subject line. You can send links to videos, graphics, photos, quotes, whatever. Or just chime in to the comments below and we’ll find you. Be sure to let us know you’ve got the rights to share any media you send.

To see other Love posts visit our Celebrate Love page.