By Sofia Celis Avellaneda
Do you live by the area of U.S. Highway 301 in Riverview? If so, drive by the local 7-Eleven on the corner of U.S. Highway 301 and Big Bend Road to see a beautiful mural. This mural was made by Vanessa Parra and Juan Pablo Parra, co-principal artists and co-owners of CAPco LLC, and their crew.
The mural is of two Slurpees and hearts with the quote “Chill in Riverview” across the side of it. The painting itself is all along the side of the 7-Eleven. The process of painting and designing a wall mural for everyone to see is not so easy.
Juan said, “The toughest part of that mural was dealing with the type of texture on that wall. The rougher the texture, the more difficult painting can be at time.”
The mural itself took about five days to create, which was completed by a crew of up to seven assistants. Along with the tough parts of a mural, there are, of course, good things. Something that is a favorite is meeting interesting new people.
“Strangers come up to us and talk because they either appreciate what we are doing or they themselves love art. It makes for great conversation,” said Juan.
With the tough parts of painting comes beautiful works of art.
Juan has been drawing since he was young, but Vanessa had discovered this talent later during college. The married couple started this mural company in 2006, and 16 years later, they have 100-plus murals all around Florida and in other states.
Juan stated, “As far as a favorite, … the one that stands out to us is the one we painted for the Vigo food company in Tampa, which was done in 2020.”
For more information, take a look at the mural company’s website at https://capcoart.com/. To contact CAPco, email jpparra79@yahoo.com or call 813-777-5361.
