Remembering El Paso’s ‘Coronado Sandman’ and His Sand Images

Lately, I have been thinking about a well-known man that shared his unique art with all of El Paso. He was quite the man that had such a humble spirit and enjoyed putting smiles on people's faces. If you were lucky enough to catch him sharing his work you saw just how hard and how much time he put into his art. I am talking about El Paso's "Coronado Sandman" who would turn sand into beautiful pictures on the ground. The "Coronado Sandman" aka Alberto Avila and his artwork were loved by many locals that appreciated him and his work. He didn't need a lot of tools and didn't have to pay for anything to create his designs. His tools didn't cost anything since he used a dustpan, broom, and a part of nature, sand. He would use those 3 tools to create drawings or special messages like the video shows above thanks to Elena Zermeno.

It was someone's birthday and "Coronado Sandman" swept the sand around to form a special message and the Carnitas Queretaro's pig. He would share his art all over El Paso and enjoyed getting to meet those of you who would stop to admire his work. Every time I hear the song "Spoonman" I always think of El Paso's street artist "Coronado Sandman" from time to time. He was right about his kind of artwork that doesn't take a lot of time or effort to erase it. The wind does all the hard work to diminish his masterpieces although we wish it could have lasted forever. Do you also catch yourself in the same feelings I have had lately? Let me know in the poll below.