Family members, community members and supporters gather for the unveiling of a mural honoring Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 .
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Family members, community members and supporters gather for the unveiling of a mural honoring Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 .
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Muralist Daniel Anguilu speaks with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, during the unveiling of a mural honoring Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Family members, community members and supporters gather for the unveiling of a mural honoring Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 .
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Family members, community members and supporters gather for the unveiling of a mural honoring Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 .
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Muralist Daniel Anguilu speaks with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, during the unveiling of a mural honoring Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Muralist Daniel Anguilu speaks with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, during the unveiling of a mural honoring Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
The image of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, wearing a cowboy hat and blue shirt, now looks out over Harrisburg Boulevard, surrounded by bright sunflowers, and scenes of a child being pursued by an immigration agent and residents protesting.
The colorful mural, by Houston artist Daniel Anguilu, was unveiled Saturday outside the Texas office of the Service Employees International Union, about a mile from where Salgado was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in July. The ceremony brought together union members, community advocates and local officials to remember the 52-year-old man whose death sparked protests and demands for justice.
The mural, itself, tells a larger story of fear, loss and resilience in Houston’s East End.
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Salgado’s son, Ronaldo, was among those who watched the reveal. He said he found unexpected comfort in seeing his father’s face painted at locations across the neighborhood.
Salgado said he feared he would never see his father’s face again outside family photographs. But as murals and memorials began appearing throughout the East End, he found reminders of the man he once saw almost every day.
“Now there are so many places with my father’s face, including here, especially in this East End neighborhood,” Salgado said.
The historic area is where generations of Mexican American families have put down roots, his parents built a home and dreamed of a better future for their children.
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It’s also where his father was killed July 7 during an ICE pursuit.
Federal officials initially said agents were targeting Lorenzo Salgado and alleged he attempted to ram his vehicle into an officer, prompting the agent to fire in self-defense. Days later, the Department of Homeland Security said that Salgado wasn’t the original target of the operation.
Surveillance footage reviewed by the Houston Chronicle did not appear to show Salgado ramming the unmarked vehicles pursuing him.
Weeks after residents and lawmakers demanded a transparent and fair investigation, Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved approximately $2.5 million to support an independent investigation led by District Attorney Sean Teare.
OPINION: For these Houston Hispanic voters, it’s not about Talarico. It’s about Lorenzo Salgado.
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Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who attended Saturday’s unveiling, said he did not know where the investigation would lead but believed the community deserved answers.
“We gave (Teare) the funding so he can help us find the truth,” Ellis said. “Because the truth sets us free.”
Muralist Daniel Anguilu speaks with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, during the unveiling of a mural honoring Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
But the mural, which took Anguilu two weeks to complete, was intended to tell a story beyond Salgado’s death.
Anguilu, who previously painted a mural honoring George Floyd near downtown Houston, said he met with union members to understand what this artwork would represent. Many of the workers described fear for their families amid the ongoing immigration crackdown.
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Capturing that fear, he said, was one of the most difficult parts of the project. Then he thought about their children.
“Our kids, it’s what we care about. It’s our families,” he said. “And we all sometimes feel like kids when we feel fear.”
Telling a story
For Anguilu, public art has long served as a way for communities to preserve their cultures and tell stories that might otherwise be overlooked.
“As a native person,” said Anguilu, who was born in Mexico, “you know, we grew up seeing our cultures, what they left behind for us, how they lived, how they think, how they create things.”
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Family members, community members and supporters gather for the unveiling of a mural honoring Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at SEIU Texas in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 .
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
That sense of history and collective memory helped guide his approach to the mural, which combines Salgado’s portrait with scenes that reflect the experiences of immigrant families.
Commissioner Ellis said he was particularly struck by the depiction of an immigration agent chasing a child carrying a backpack.
He said public art can reach people who might never step inside a museum, especially in neighborhoods where thousands pass by murals every day. “Art is such a universal symbol to help us remember, to help us unify, to inspire us to do things,” he said. The work includes a QR code allowing visitors to scan and learn more about its creation.
Anguilu also painted in a butterfly, which he said symbolizes migration and the community’s resilience and perseverance. The design was also inspired by a message he heard repeatedly from members: that ICE’s violence had awakened a giant.
“I’m hopeful that this giant is us,” he said. “Us that woke up today, that came here, that are getting together to figure out what’s next for our communities.”
Mirna Blanco, a janitor and union member, said she hopes the mural will stand as a testament to what communities like Magnolia Park have endured and what they continue to fight for.
“We want it to remain part of history, how we were persecuted, how we were harassed, because the American dream became a nightmare,” she said.
The mural is the latest in a growing number of works dedicated to Lorenzo Salgado, including a memorial near Canal Street and Wayside Drive that Ronaldo said he visits daily. There, he has watched neighbors leave flowers, candles and even “I voted” stickers.
“It’s not just where my dad died,” he said. “It’s where a movement started.”