By Sarah Gladstone

Cartoonish nachos spill out of a bowl in front of a light purple background. These illustrated nachos, which cover six canvases, will soon be hung up in the Brookline Resilient Youth Team (BRYT) classroom.

The mural, painted by past BRYT students, is in honor of José Vázquez Vinasco, a student who passed away in December 2012 after a long fight with cancer.

Eliana von Krusenstiern ‘14, a close friend of Vinasco, explained the inspiration behind the nacho-themed mural.

According to von Krusenstiern, Vinasco loved nachos even though they upset his stomach. One day, when von Krusenstiern and Vinasco went to get lunch in the cafeteria, she warned him not to eat them, but he ate them anyway. The next day he told von Krusenstiern he had an upset stomach that night. Yet, according to von Krusenstiern, he didn’t regret it.

“Even when he was in the hospital getting chemo, getting treated for cancer and couldn’t leave the hospital, he still managed to be a straight A student,” von Krusenstiern said. “He didn’t let being sick define who he was. He didn’t let being sick have any say on how he lived his life. He didn’t define himself as someone with cancer.”

Von Krusenstiern said though she came up with the idea to make the mural, she never had the chance to actually act upon it while she was at the high school. Senior Allie Gregoire, who knew Vinasco from being in the BRYT program herself during her freshman year, spearheaded the project with the help of von Krusenstiern.

“Everyone was hit hard by it. Since then, we were like we should remember this person,” Gregoire said. “He was such a fun guy, and we thought that a mural would be a great way to just still have him there. He’s always going to be here with us, and for the next generations of the BRYT community.”

According to BRYT Program Coordinator Annie Eagle, the mural also will act as a conversation starter for students who may not have known Vinasco.

“I’m just really proud of our community of students for coming together to remember him,” Eagle said. “It was a painful situation, and they lost a great friend. I think to be able to turn that into something positive is something that I’m really happy to be a part of.”

Gregoire said painting this mural became a way for the community to come together. It was student organized with the help of teachers in the Unified Arts building who donated brushes and paints to the project.

“It brought back that same community when we were all together in BRYT,” Gregoire said. “The same community that knew José. The people who helped painting it made it even more special.”

Von Krusenstiern said while this mural was painted in Vinasco’s honor, the meaning behind it is also important for the BRYT community.

“That’s a really important message for people in the BRYT program because some people are there for minor injuries, some people have some pretty terrible things, but everyone is there because there is something going on in their lives that is making it harder for them to live their life as they want to,” von Krusenstiern said. “I think it’s a really important message that you can live your life the way you want no matter what is going on in your life.”

According to BRYT aide Nick Herbert, who tutored Vinasco in his home and in the hospital when he was too sick to come to school, Vinasco was an inspiration to other students and an important part of the BRYT community.

“I think having that represented somewhere is really important not only for those who knew José, but also as a way for students who are here who may get discouraged sometimes to just have some kind of inspiration for how resilient he was,” Herbert said. “ I think also for the larger school community about the amount of resilience that we have here in our student body, and to let that be known and honor him.”

Monica Vinasco, Jose Vinasco’s mother, said she appreciates the significance of the mural in her son’s honor.

“The fact that he might have impacted them to that degree, it’s a good feeling for a mom to know that it wasn’t in vain,” Monica Vinasco said. “I’m just glad that his life wasn’t in vain and the people remember him in a happy and joyful manner.”

Sarah Gladstone can be contacted at [email protected]