Welcome to the CORTEZ CULTURAL CENTER

A trompe-l'oeil mural of modern-day Puebloan Indian life covers the entire north wall of the Cultural Center. The mural is very large, and from a distance, looks real. It was painted by Buford C. Wayt who was a teacher and Principal in Cortez for many years.

Mr. Wayt was born May 9, 1921, in Ignacio, the son of David Price and Sylvia (Pargin) Wayt. He graduated from Western State College in Gunnison, where he majored in music education. He married Dorothy Jean Fisher on Jan. 25, 1942, at the Durango Presbyterian Church.

The Wayts moved to Cortez in August 1950, where he developed a band program in the Cortez schools. He later became Principal of Cortez Junior High School. He served as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for School District RE-1. In 1967, he helped develop an intercultural education program at Fort Lewis College focusing on multi-lingual groups, especially American Indians and Spanish-speakers. He returned to the Cortez schools, and became the principal of several schools.

He won numerous awards in education. In 1990, he was awarded the Colorado Hero Award from the governor’s office.

In 1991, at the age of 70, he painted the mural. In 1997, he received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Mr. Wayt’s son, Bradley, said his father was fond of saying: “You work in a community to make a living, and you give to the community to make a life.”

Muralist Mariah Kaminsky restored Buford Wayt’s mural in 2013. Her website is www.mariahkaminsky.com.

The Cortez Cultural Center is grateful to Buford Wayt for the original work and to the City of Cortez for the funds to restore the mural.


Buford C. Wayt died on Feb. 5, 2003, at his home in Cortez of cancer. He was 81. His legacy will live on for generations to come.