A drone view shows members of the Fullpaint 360 collective installing cords in a mural titled “Constelacion de Zacamil” by Italian artist Adriano Lombardo in Mejicanos, El Salvador, July 30, 2024.
A woman stands by a mural titled “Outside” in Mejicanos, El Salvador, July 11, 2024.
The dozen murals already completed include a Mesoamerican pyramid, pixelated depictions of the Virgin Mary and works straight out of the artists’ imaginations.
The initiative in the once-violent neighborhood is led by a Salvadoran foundation that seeks to fill communities with art. Its aim in Zacamil is to create stories-high murals over the next two years on nearly every wall of the complex, which houses around 4,000 residents.
Zacamil got a break from decades of violence two years ago when President Nayib Bukele launched a nationwide crackdown on gangs. The state of emergency — which human rights groups have said Bukele must end amid reports of abuses — has put almost 82,000 alleged gang members in prison.
Even with the murals improving the neighborhood’s appearance, chronic infrastructure issues remain, with garbage piled up in the streets and storm drains clogged. TV antennas, power cables and clothes strewn out windows across clotheslines also dot the neighborhood.
A drone view shows a boy watching outside his apartment next to a mural titled “Outside,” in Mejicanos, El Salvador, July 18, 2024.
Members of the Fullpaint 360 collective paint a mural titled “Outside” designed by Salvadoran artist Fernando Orellana, in Mejicanos, El Salvador, July 2, 2024.
A drone view shows members of the Fullpaint 360 collective painting clouds on a building in Mejicanos, El Salvador, Aug. 13, 2024.
Many Zacamil residents fled in 1989 when fighting between the Salvadoran army and the former leftist guerrilla group, Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, nearly destroyed the Mejicanos district.
When they returned, many found homes damaged by two earthquakes in 2001 or invaded by gang members.
“There are always problems, but this is a facelift,” said a 70-year-old resident who declined to give his name.
El Salvador’s 12-year civil war from late 1979 to January 1992 killed more than 75,000 people.
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 19:52:00
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