Click on a press item below to read WikiPages Grand Society Antiques & Gallery - 'Marking it Up' Berliner Literaturkritik Heimat ist da, wo man weg will Daily News Hunts Point's Tats Cru graffiti crew to take city to court for covering 'art' Gothamist Sharpton Urges Harlem to End "Stop Snitching" Trend Daily News Hunts Point-based graffiti arts TATS CRU lend urban cred to Lord & Taylor SEAK: Graffiti and Street Art Diary Künstler Kollegen aus New York zu Besuch The New York Times Walls of Art for Everyone, but Made by Not Just Anyone Gothamist Graffiti Irony MIT Graffiti artists TATS CRU visit MIT Scion Installation Scion Art Tour BNET 2004 Ad e-flux International Artexpo Shows That Art Is Everywhere The New York Times Graffiti with a German (and Bronx) Accent Daily News Fans Show Much Love for Big Pun MTV New Big Pun Mural To Mark Anniversary Of Rapper's Death The New York Times Extending the Life And Lore of Graffiti The New York Times Mural Painters Arrested but Then Released Daily News Taggers Freed After Tribute to Rapper OKd Daily News Memorial for Rapper New York Magazine Guten Tag MEMORIAL FOR RAPPER Big Pun mourned with Bronx mural Publisher: Daily News By: Robert Ingrassia Published: February 9, 2000 With a spray-painted likeness of Big Pun as a backdrop, the rapper's fans gathered yesterday to leave offerings of flowers, candles and even liquor as they turned a typical South Bronx streetcorner into a symbol of sadness, pride and hope. At 163rd St. and Westchester Ave., artists worked all day to finish the huge mural honoring the entertainer, born Christopher Rios, who died Monday in a White Plains hotel at age 28. Next to flowers and candles, fans set out bottles of Hennessy cognac, Amaretto di Saronno and St. Ides malt liquor, three of Big Pun's favorite drinks. As they watched the 15-by-35-foot mural take shape, fans hailed the nearly 700-pound rapper as a gentle giant whose rise from the ghetto to become one of the few major Latino rap artists gave hope to other young Puerto Ricans. "A man who comes out of the jungle and makes something of himself - that's inspiring," said June Vasquez, 32, one of five artists who worked on the mural. "He was like a big bear, know what I mean?" asked Tony (Touch) Torres, 29, a shoe salesman. "A big, lovable bear who didn't let fame go to his head." Big Pun, who got his start with fellow Puerto Rican musician Fat Joe, earned double platinum sales with his debut record, "Capital Punishment." His second record, "Yeah, Baby," is set for release in April. "He was a good man, a good rapper," said Melissa Collazo, 19, who placed candles and malt liquor at the shrine. "He was a man who gave people strength." Big Pun, who grew up in the Soundview area of the Bronx, died at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains. The cause of death is being withheld pending the results of a toxicology test. An autopsy found that Big Pun's heart and lungs were seriously damaged by his weight, which had reached 698 pounds. The rapper had an enlarged heart - three times its normal size - caused by his extreme obesity. His lungs showed signs of failure and had begun to fill with fluid, a sign that his heart was working too hard. Big Pun was staying at the hotel with his wife and three kids while a South Bronx home he bought last year was being renovated. His new home was not a sprawling estate, but a two-story wooden house with a view of the Cross Bronx Expressway. "He didn't want to live in a mansion like other rappers," said Marlene Medina, 14, Big Pun's neighbor on Commonwealth Ave. "He just wanted to be in the neighborhood with us." Outside the house were signs of the renovation: Piles of plywood, doors and a ladder. A four-wheeler, two scooters and two motorcycles were parked in the yard, where he played with his kids. "He was a homeboy, as they say, and didn't want to leave the neighborhood," said Maria Melendez, a New York schools family adviser and former neighbor of Big Pun. "But his weight was the one thing I worried about." All Images and Articles are Copyright of the Publisher View Publisher's Link