2015

Arturo Vega decorated an 8 x 10 foot billboard on the side of Oliver Harkness’s shop, Quality Mending, at the busy corner of Prince and Elizabeth Street, with hundreds of brightly colored stickers, an image of Jesus Christ, strips of vivid yellow and green paper, and the stenciled letters, “Life isn’t Tragic. Love is just being ignored.” He borrowed these words from Mariachi El Bronx, a band he befriended on the Warped Tour. This phrase was more than a slogan to Arturo. It was the one of the organizing principles of his life. He numbered among his beloved friends, not only those of us who saw him often, but hundreds of talented people from all over the world.