Legendary San Antonio artist Jesse Treviño has died after battling throat cancer.

SAN ANTONIO. Renowned San Antonio artist Jesse Treviño has passed away, his nephew told KENS 5. He battled throat cancer. He was 76 years old.

More than 20 years ago, Trevigno created a nine-story mosaic mural on the south outer wall of the Christus Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. It depicts a boy holding a white dove in his hands and protected by a female guardian angel standing behind him.

Another iconic piece of his art is La Veladora, a 40-foot-tall three-dimensional mosaic mural by Treviño depicting a votive candle outside the Guadeloupe Cultural Arts Center.

Treviño’s last social media photo was taken at the Wells Fargo Bank, where his mural Imagenes de Mi Pueblo was featured.

Many people commented on his posts, sent prayers and loved his way. You can view his website Here to learn more about his past and admire his works of art.

KENS 5 spoke to Treviño in October 2017, meeting with him at his downtown studio, his apartment and his Roosevelt Avenue warehouse. This place is overflowing with work and creativity throughout life.

STORY: The people who make San Antonio great: artist Jesse Treviño

Treviño’s entire life reads like a script. His family immigrated from Monterrey to San Antonio. As a student, he won scholarships to prestigious art schools.

Then in Vietnam, a sniper bullet and a booby trap sent him home literally broken. He suffered from multiple wounds and post-traumatic stress disorder. Eventually, he lost his right arm, the drawing arm. But he called the experience transformative.

“What happened to me during the Vietnam War woke me up,” he told KENS 5.

In the 1970s, he had to start over by learning to draw with his left hand, and he applied for an MFA program at UTSA. He was told that it would be a difficult process. But none of this stopped him.

“I had to find ways to do something a little unorthodox. But the point is, you do it!” Treviño said.

He has won numerous national awards, earned a seat at the Smithsonian, and the respect of presidents, all for representing the people of San Antonio.

“I wanted to raise their dignity, the guy who worked at Kelly Field, or the guy who sold the rasp, raise them all,” he said.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg released a statement upon learning of his passing:

“Jesse Treviño was an American hero. The wounds of the Vietnam War that took so many of his friends and neighbors from San Antonio’s West Side never left him, but he used those scars to bring healing to millions. His kindness and courage will forever remain in our hearts, as will his works of art, which are now icons of the landscape. He is the epitome of patriotism. Rest in peace, my friend.”