Why is there a Danny Trejo mural in Philadelphia?

Name a thing Outlaw, Spy Kidsand King of the Hill They have one thing in common with Philadelphia: the face of 80-year-old actor Danny Trejo is on all of them. For the past two years, Trejo’s face can be seen on a mural in Kensington at the corner of East Tusculum Street and Frankford Avenue.

After passing by the portrait, a reader asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum, about the city and the region: Does Danny Trejo have any significance or connection to Philadelphia? Or is the mural there to pay tribute to him?

Trejo, a Los Angeles native, doesn’t seem to have a direct connection to the city beyond the occasional visit. (The Inquirer attempted to reach Trejo, but his rep said he was busy filming.) The decision to portray him on a Kensington wall is more about hope.

How did Danny Trejo’s face end up in Kensington?

Colombian muralist José Bustamante was living in the area when two artist friends visited from Spain. When inspiration struck, the trio headed to a wall that Busta, Bustamante’s artistic pseudonym, had permission to paint when the need arose.

Outside the Direct Auto towing and collision repair company, the wall has been a revolving door of artistic concepts for more than a decade. But Trejo’s mural is the one that has endured the longest, Bustamante said.

The muralist, who had lived in Kensington for the past five years, had grown accustomed to the reality of living in the East Coast’s largest open-air drug market, though he hadn’t become desensitized to it. His friends, not so much.

At the time, an encampment of people with active addiction lived next to the bridge attached to the wall. Seeing the contrast between Hispanic families in the area living in the midst of Philadelphia’s drug crisis sparked a conversation about culture, their childhood heroes and the reality of the area.

Everyone thought of actor Danny Trejo. Machete, as Bustamante calls him after the character Trejo played in Spy Kids and his own eponymous film, had not only been an icon of his childhood but he was also celebrating 55 years of sobriety.

Trejo has been open about his struggles with addiction. He first smoked marijuana at age 8, started drinking at 12 and used heroin at 14. He was eventually jailed for drug trafficking, before turning his life around and becoming a prolific actor, with appearances in more than 200 films.

“His characters have always been like this person who came from nowhere and became someone important. He has that neighborhood vibe, that authenticity, and he’s always come across as a good guy, even though he can be seen as a bad guy,” Busta said. “I thought it might resonate with some people.”

Then they began to paint. After 12 hours of work, a portrait of Trejo with a sweet gaze and a hard expression was etched on the wall. Behind Trejo’s face is a dark street lit by street lamps as he stares out at the real streets of Kensington.

“I think anyone who walks by there, in any condition, can look at it and say, ‘Oh, that’s amazing,’” Busta said. “It can take them out of their craziness for a second and, you know, just (allow them) to appreciate something less negative.”

Despite the admiration, Trejo may not remain in Kensington for long.

Bustamante and some of his local artist friends are thinking about renovating the wall with a new mural next year. First, they have to figure out how to patch a hole in the wall before they can paint.

Still, the mural won’t be forgotten. There are photos of it on Bustamante’s Instagram and the trio reached out to Trejo on social media when the mural was painted to let him know there was a mural of his face in town.

Although they never received a response, Bustamante said the mural is also a way of saying, “Thank you for being such an inspiring figure.”