Beni and one of his murals
You may not recognize Benedicto Brigada’s (“Beni”) face, but you would have to be blind to
live around Garfield Sq. Park and not recognize his painting. According to his own count, Beni has completed over 200 murals, including the new mural at Café El Paraiso across from Garfield Sq. and a work depicting the history of San Francisco since 1750 inside Taqueria Vallarta on 24th St.
With an exceptional personal history in a neighborhood full of unconventional stories, Beni
describes that his mother gave him his first notebook at six years old so he would stop painting on the floor of their home in Mexico where his grandparents had fled after the fall of the Batista regime in Cuba. Originally from Italy, Beni’s grandfather had moved to Chicago and then to set up a sugar plantation in Cuba where he met Beni’s grandmother. In the family’s tradition of travel, Beni left for Paris at 15 years old with a scholarship that only covered the cost of board. Chasing girls and playing music across Europe from Florence to Toledo to Berlin, Beni made a living painting and sometimes “stealing” he explained without hesitation.
Back in Mexico he finished his studies in history and taught in high school, all the time painting and playing music. But, his adventurous impulse returned and Beni spent over two decades living what he describes as the “wild rock and roll” lifestyle. Having played guitar, bass, and piano with countless bands across the country, including the group Dancer de Lobos most recently in San Francisco, Beni still closes his eyes and breaks into passionate song when he recalls playing his first rock song at the age of eight – the Spanish version of the Beatle’s Obla Di Obla Da.
At 48 years old, over ten of which have been spent in S.F. and the Mission, diabetes has slowed Beni’s life down a bit. He describes his current life as tranquil, focused on painting to help support his three sons – an accountant, architect, and petroleum engineering student in Mexico. His pride for his murals is tempered with his humble view of his present circumstances living by himself and recognized by few people in the neighborhood. In contrast to his previous lifestyle, he explains, “My lovers are now the painting and the music.”
