by Olivia Hubert-Allen, The Pendulum

Gustavo Chavez Pavon was ready to come to America.

He had a place to stay and transportation was lined up. He had a letter of invitation from Elon University and a letter of support from N.C. Congressman Howard Coble. Most importantly, he had one remarkable mission: To help unite a community.

But on Sept. 18, the Mexico City muralist who was set to come to Elon as an artist-in-residence was denied his visa.

The official reason cited was section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that visa applicants must have compelling ties to their homeland to ensure they will return home after their stay in America is over. A house, family, bank account or job usually serves to prove a reason to return, but sometimes the government needs more.

Pavon is upset his visa was denied, but says he is not surprised by the verdict. He suspects his history in Venezuela could be to blame.

“I want to thank everyone at Elon for this attempt at a cross-culture experience,” Pavon said. “I am saddened that it has been put on hold by this oppression.”

Pavon was set to live in Alamance County for the last three weeks in October and paint a mural on a wall outside of the YMCA in downtown Burlington. Organizers said Pavon was going to make the mural a community effort in not only the planning, but also the painting.

“The whole concept for bringing him in was to develop a deeper relationship with the Latino community,” Cary Worhty, director of the Alamance County Arts Council, said. “We want to use the arts to help that dialogue.”

Tom Arcaro, professor of sociology and director of Project Pericles, said focus groups were to be conducted with a diverse group of Alamance County residents to see what the mural should be about.

“The mural project was going to help us learn more about our community,” Arcaro said.

He said after the focus groups would be over, organizers would have planned to “offer a document to be used by the City of Burlington and other entities that are interested in this type of pulse taking of our community.”

Elon first got involved with Pavon when the 2008 Periclean Scholars met him in Chiapas, Mexico last year. The students’ original intention was to help with construction on a school. They were able to get Pavon to paint a mural with them on one of the exterior walls.

“We picked out paint with him and our students painted this beautiful mural with him,” Arcaro said. “Students immediately said, ‘Wow this would be a great Periclean-in-residence. Lets have him do a mural at Elon.’”

But talk soon turned to using Pavon’s visit as a chance for Elon to connect to the Alamance County community and the local Hispanic population. Arcaro was able to get the Alamance County Arts Council and the Alamance Community YMCA on board to help bring Pavon here.

“There is just so much we can share cross-culturally,” Pavon said.

Pavon, who has painted murals in Mexico, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands, was also the first artist to paint on the wall between Palestine and Israel.

“It was supposed to be a project that lived out the goal we have of creating better and deeper bonds between Elon and the surrounding community,” Arcaro said. “It was about doing something proactive in response to the growing heterogeneity in our population.”

For now, organizers plan to resubmit Pavon’s visa application in hopes that they will still be able to bring him to Alamance County, just at a later time.

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