MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee stands out with street art that supports Wisconsin sports teams — whether it’s an animated mural of William Contreras in Black Cat Alley or “El Paletero” in Walker’s Point.
Watch: Milwaukee muralists rally behind Brewers during playoff run
On the side of Heavy Hitters Athletic Facility in the Walker’s Point neighborhood, “El Paletero” towers over passersby. The mural displays a popsicle vendor wearing a Brewers hat and pushing a cart through the Milwaukee Brewers script logo — literally walking through the city. The man behind this mural is Michael Cerda.
“It just screams my childhood,” said Cerda.
The piece reminds him of his upbringing as a Mexican American raised on the South Side of Milwaukee.
“I grew up listening for the paletero — he would cruise the neighborhood, and you would hear the bells, and as a kid, we would chase him down just to get our hands on los paletas. So that just has, like, a core memory for me. As an adult, now I have the opportunity to kind of showcase these often overlooked individuals,” said Cerda.
Cerda’s parents immigrated from Mexico and raised him in Milwaukee — naturally, he became a Brewers fan. He played baseball growing up and went to Brewers games with his father. While his sports career didn’t play out, art was his home run.
“My first dream was probably to be a baseball player, but then I picked up art,” said Cerda. “I always say, like, I left a nine-to-five for 24/7 — because I will do this all day rather than sit at a desk all day.”
Tying his childhood and favorite team together, he worked with the Brewers to create "El Paletero" last year as part of the Brewers' #BeyondTheDiamond community engagement program.
“I always wanted to paint an iconic figure of, like, a paletero, and I just had no real idea of where to put it, where to paint it,” said Cerda. “Now that I'm here and being able to work with the Brewers in a different way, I feel like I made my dad really proud.”
He’s not the only artist the Brewers have given the green light to. A mural of William Contreras stands in Black Cat Alley. It was illustrated by Brent Schoonover, who is a Milwaukee native and now lives in Minnesota. This past summer, the piece was painted by Hannah Tews, who is from the suburbs of the city.
“I think it's kind of a personal good luck charm. They hit first place a little bit after we put this one up, and they've stayed there, and we're in the playoffs,” said Tews.
Like Michael, Hannah is a big Brewers fan.
“The players are bringing it. The coaching team is phenomenal. Like, we've got Bob Uecker looking out for us,” said Tews.
They both hope that the magic continues, from walled canvases to a World Series win.
“You can feel the excitement. There's also a lot of tension too, because it's like, we want to — we want them to go all the way, right?” said Cerda.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
