NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — A New Braunfels resident is trying to change the conversation surrounding transplants from California after receiving what he considers a rocky welcome when he moved to New Braunfels from the Golden State.
On Mike Zinnitto’s backyard fence, cartoonish images of Mickey Mouse and the bear of the California flag can be seen striding towards the Lone Star State.
Zinnitto spent most of his life in southern California before moving to New Braunfels two years ago, when his daughter and niece were accepted to college in Texas.
"Disneyland? I grew up in Disneyland,” he said. “The California Angels were my team for the longest time growing up as a kid.
He says when he moved to Texas, he got a warm welcome… except when he was driving.
"I still had my California license plates,” Zinnitto said. “There was a few times, a couple of different instances where it was very clear that people that were driving around me didn't like people from California."
Unsurprisingly, that changed after he switched out his plates.
"I got Texas license plates. It was like I belonged,” he said. “They didn't even know."
Zinnitto eventually approached New Braunfels artist Johnny Duncan about creating a mural representing both states with hopes of changing a conversation that's been driven by political rivalry, and sometimes antagonism.
"I was all-in on the idea of starting a narrative or a dialogue that was more inclusive rather than exclusive," Duncan said.
Duncan said he wanted to touch on important landmarks and iconography that show both states in a positive light.
For California he used the Golden Gate Bridge, Seaworld and the iconic Hollywood sign. For Texas, it was cowboy boots, the Alamo and an Armadillo eating a breakfast taco.
“That's kind of why I did this, this mural—to try to get that dialogue going,” he said. “To make it an understanding that not everybody that's moving here is coming to change Texas.”
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