Colors, identity and sport: Tobalito is projected in a beautiful mural at the Agustín Codazzi branch office

April 21, 2026
8:08 pm

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A wide boulevard is decorated with extraordinary art, recreating identity, culture and the life of the municipality, through colorful walls that attract the attention of those who pass through one of the main avenues of Codazzi. In a central wall of this place, Tobalito, official character of the Parasuramerican Games Valledupar 2026, is recreated in the work of the artist Héctor Bracho, who managed in his mural, to connect art, community and sport, just before the hemispheric multi-sport event.

Agustín Codazzi, April 21, 2026. On one of the walls of Agustín Codazzi, sub-venue of the Parasuramerican Games Valledupar 2026, color, memory and resilience are found in a work that is already beginning to become a symbol of the territory. Behind this mural is Hector Luis Bracho Fuenmayor, Venezuelan artist, born in Maracaibo, who found in Cesar territory, a new home and also opportunities and above all, new canvases to tell stories.

Born on November 17, 1974 in Maracaibo, Zulia state (western Venezuela), Bracho was trained in art schools Neptaly Rincon and Julio Arriaga. He arrived in Colombia on August 19, 2019, with lots of dreams, energy and his overflowing talent that encompasses painting, sculpture, design and even fine Caribbean cuisine.

Of humble origin -as the artist himself considers himself-, he painted his first painting in 1987 and toured different regions of Venezuela restoring churches and making floats for carnivals. In Agustín Codazzi, a family took him in during his early years; he began working in the kitchen, but the COVID-19 pandemic put his stability to the test.

At the beginning of his career, he worked as a cook.

The favorable breaking point came in 2022, when his artistic work began to gain visibility with interventions such as the mural in Confacesar, the chapel of La Divina Pastora and works in the Paseo de la Esperanza, where he was recognized as the best muralist, despite acts of vandalism that affected some of his creations.

Bracho defines his life in Colombia as “transitory but in love”. In his new home he adopted to the customs, the vallenata music and the warmth of the people of the sub-venue of the II Parasuramerican Games of history. Currently, she collaborates with the municipal administration of Mayor Hernan Baquero Rodriguez, highlighting the respect of the community, the devotion to La Divina Pastora and the cultural identity of the territory.

The Tobalito mural: identity, territory and future

In the framework of the Valledupar 2026 Parasuramerican Games, Bracho was in charge of capturing Tobalito, the official character of the multisport event, in a mural that today connects art with the spirit of the Games.

Inspired by the cañaguate tree and the legacy of Vallenato poet Tobias Enrique “Don Toba” Pumarejo and designed by young Carlos Arzuaga, Tobalito represents the resilience, identity and hope of a region that is preparing to welcome 1,105 athletes from 12 countries of the continent.

“Each stroke flies the soul, like my love for Venezuela and this people,” says the artist, who achieves in his work a bridge between migration, memory and local pride.

At 52 years old, Hector Bracho not only paints murals: he builds stories, weaves identity and leaves a cultural footprint in Codazzi, the sub-sites that already breathes the spirit of Valledupar 2026.