LOOK – Blucifer gets a spa day: DIA’s blue horse gets cleaned and sunscreened

Even Denver’s most notorious red-eyed demon horse needs a little self-care now and then.

Denver International Airport gave its 32-foot blue mustang a touch-up, and yes, that’s the one everyone calls “Blucifer.” Art conservators cleaned the giant fiberglass horse, checked it over from mane to massive hooves and added a fresh coat of ultraviolet protectant. That’s basically sunscreen for a horse that stands in the high-plains sun on Peña Boulevard all year.

The airport officially calls the sculpture “Mustang,” but Coloradans have never really used that name. Artist Luis Jiménez created the rearing horse, with its veins and glowing red eyes, as a tribute to the wild spirit of the West. He died in 2006 when part of the sculpture fell on him in his studio. His family and studio finished the work, and it was installed outside DIA in 2008. Ever since, it’s been a top suspect in every DIA conspiracy theory, along with the murals, the gargoyle in a suitcase and the “secret tunnels.”

Love it or hate it, Blucifer has become Denver’s unofficial welcome committee. It’s the first thing many travelers see when they land and the last thing they see on the way out. It’s on T-shirts, ornaments and more than a few Halloween costumes. Making sure the horse stays bright blue for decades to come is the kind of attention a local legend deserves.

So the next time you’re on Peña heading to catch a flight, check out Blucifer as he may be a little more vibrant.