A new mural by Cuban American artist Ernesto Maranje flies high over Port Everglades on the 12-story Harbormaster Tower. “Plumage and Passage” features the great blue heron and the roseate spoonbill, both native to South Florida. For the artist, the mural celebrates the natural beauty of the Everglades and the maritime spirit of Port Everglades.
“The piece not only enhances the port’s aesthetic but also reminds travelers of South Florida’s natural wonders and the importance of preserving this delicate ecosystem,” said Maranje of the mural. It is viewable to visitors who pass through Port security or are on a waiting cruise ship.
“Plumage and Passage” replaces a 2019 mural, “Avian Odyssey,” that was also completed by Maranje as part of the Broward Cultural Division’s continued expansion of public art. The original mural featured a ruby-throated hummingbird and an American white ibis, both native to Florida. When the wall of the Harbormaster Tower sustained water damage and needed to be repaired, Maranje was commissioned to design a new mural using the original theme of birds.
The new mural covers the top four stories of the building with large wading birds filling the massive space.
“With the height of the building, I just knew that wading birds were the way to go,” he said.
Maranje let the natural elements displayed in the mural dictate the palette.
“In this case I stayed true to the color palette of the birds and then I kind of worked around to create something very calm and pleasing,” he said.
Both the location and structure of the 12-story Harbormaster Tower inspired the new design.
“You don’t really interact with it like you would a normal wall,” said Maranje. “To view the painting, you have to really look up to see it or view it, almost straight on, from the top of a cruise liner.”
The height of the building presented challenges for painting, including the use of swing lifts and a 125-foot articulated boom lift. To operate the lift and assist with painting, Maranje depended on a team of four local artists for his project.
“When I first started painting public art, I did the mural at the Port and, at this point five or six years later, I thought it would be good to include other local artists,” said Maranje, who says he enjoyed painting with a team. “I’ve grown in the art community and met many different artists and it’s just nice to have a project that will allow you to involve other artists.”
Maranje, who was born in Chicago and raised in Miami, said the team consisted of traditional painters and graffiti street artists and would alternate. There were always three artists on the swing stage — Maranje in the middle and one artist to each side.
Manu Montano, one of Maranje’s art assistants, said that while everyone brought something to the team, one of the most notable things about Maranje is his talent for mixing color.
“We didn’t use any spray paint at all,” said Montano. “Every color was custom. One of the reasons that I was so excited to work with him is because the way this man mixes color is incredible. His eye is so exact that it’s kind of crazy.”
There was also high risk in operating the 125-foot boom, said Montano, who has operated this kind of lift before.
Maranje and Montano said the team had to be very strategic about every move, especially in terms of the wind.
“We also had the whole Harbormaster [staff] watching so there was a lot of pressure not to hit their wall,” she joked. “This project was a lot of mental, emotional, and physical demands put all together to make this one art piece live—that’s a very beautiful thing.”
The use of lifts also meant that when the wind picked up, Maranje and his team couldn’t continue their work.
“The winds couldn’t surpass 18 mph,” said Montano, who prepared an hour before start time every day the team was working.
“I would go up to the roof to make sure that all our wires were good, all our safety lines were set, and that the pools were tight. It’s a lot of responsibility.”
The project was a physical and mental feat for the artists.
“Muralists, I think, are some of the toughest because we’re athletes. We also have to sacrifice a lot. Going day to day for weeks, sometimes months, is a lot. It’s a lot on the body, it’s a lot on the soul, and it’s a lot on the mind,” said Montano.
Maranje also admits he’s afraid of heights.
“As long as I don’t freeze, I’m able to paint,” he said. “Once I start painting, once I start going then that’s when everything’s okay, but I can’t stop and think about it too much. If I do, then, yeah, I need a reset.”
Montano agrees.
“The older I get, I’m kind of scared . . . (sometimes) I don’t even know if I want to be up there,” said the 33-year-old painter. “But to be honest, once you get up there and you remember why you were chosen to do it, it just all comes out and that’s most beautiful, cool thing. You get Ernesto’s energy in that moment.”
Muralist, graffiti artist and painter Ktano and graffiti artists Reds and Paul Hughes also worked as art assistants on the mural. Montano said that art assistants often provide emotional support for the main artist.
“You form a symbiosis with the artist based on the needs and, whatever energy grows from that, that’s the kind of energy we are all painting in and that the kind of energy the wall received,” said Montano. “So, I like to think that this project was beautiful because of the team we had.”
