Supporters gasped and smiled as they unveiled the “Sea of Hope” mural on Aug. 18 at The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth. The 76-foot-wide, 14-foot-high painting, revealed underwater sea life, including various plant life, corals, snails, crabs, octopuses, and a colorful array of fish right out of Walt Disney’s “Finding Nemo.” The mural includes a blowfish, starfish, a whale, dolphins, a turtle, sea horses, stingrays and a shrimp waving to the viewer on top of a yellow submarine.
The creation of the “Sea of Hope” mural was the brainchild of Luz Cubano, who along with the help of a handful of volunteers completed the project in two months. According to Cubano, painting the “Sea of Hope” gave her the incredible opportunity to help the children at The Ark, “forget for a moment that they’ve led the ultimate reality.”
“I want to recognize the entire personnel of The Ark for their incredible patience during these two months. I dedicate ‘Sea of Hope’ with all my heart and love to all the kids who are my real inspiration and to Harold, my brother, who is my guardian angel in heaven,” Luz Cubano said. “God bless you and God bless The Ark.”
Others who helped with the project included her husband Dr. Miguel Cubano, her brother and sister-in-law, Herly de Leon and Carolina Bonet, Jeanne Pasch, Kim and Allison Humpal.
The Cubano’s attend Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel on Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and found out about The Ark through her husband’s work. Last December Dr. Cubano, Commander of the Naval Health Clinic at NAS Corpus Chrsti, chose children from the Ark for gift giving. “About 20 of us delivered the gifts, including my wife,” Dr. Cubano said.
Luz Cubano was so taken with the children and with The Ark president, Sister Milagros Tormo, a sister with the congregation of Missionary Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that she insisted on volunteering. Sister Milagros explained that the background checks to care for the little ones would take months, but –she went on to say, “I have always dreamed of a mural like the one painted in the children’s hospital.” Cubano, who had only been painting as a hobby for a couple of years, decided to bravely tackle the mural.
After watching several YouTube videos, she began creating paper molds for her sea life. Her helpers created the canvas by painting the primer on one entire side of the room and then after Luz Cubano painted the translucent blue sea, Dr. Cubano added white paint inside the molds of every creature his wife would paint.
Before the unveiling, longtime chairperson of The Ark, Rene Esquivel said, “Luz Cubano your mural will bring enjoyment, tranquility, and a sense of security that will benefit our children for years to come. Who knows, one day you’re going to turn around, and you’re going to have a child smile at you, and that’s going to be God’s way of telling you that your gift is providing positive and emotional support for children.”
According to Delma Trejo, executive director/administrator of The Ark the making of the mural has been “awesome for the kids,” because she’d [Luz Cubano] be working during the day and then the kids would come by in the evenings and ask, “where is the shark?” Trejo said that after much prodding the shark was added.
“We are known as the baby shelter in the state of Texas. Basically, that’s all we’ve been taking recently. We get children from Dallas, Houston, Eagle Pass, San Antonio all over the state of Texas and our goal is to keep them here, protect them and give them anything they need,” Trejo said.
For more information about donating gift cards or volunteering, contact The Ark Assessment Center & Emergency Shelter for Youth at (361) 241-6566 or visit www.ark4kids.com.