It is very common for favelas to be associated with ugly and polluted places and even violence. Of course, this situation cannot be ignored, because it is the reality of some favelas not only in Spain, but in the world.
But in Mexico, a community was 'different' after being revitalized with the use of graffiti art! That's right, the community benefited from the beautiful work was Las Palmitas in the city of Pachuca. The work was done by the art collective Germen Crew.
For The Guardiam newspaper, Enrique Mibe Gomez, who was the director of the project, revealed the following: “Each color represents the soul of the neighborhood. It has been a whole community effort, every family has participated in some way,” he commented.
For the work to be completed, around 209 houses were painted, or twenty thousand square meters of facades for 14 months. Of these houses, 452 families benefited. But what is most impressive, in addition to the good work, is that in the community the rate of violence among young people has decreased, proving the success of this project.
Art decreasing violence
As with projects that include education and sports, art is also a manifesto that it is possible to reduce violence with projects involving art and culture.
In the community, for example, before, young people did not stay up late talking. After the graffiti work was done, it was possible to see many young people talking until later, which showed that the project worked there.
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And the words of the project director reiterate once again how important the realization of this work was for the place: “Honestly, what surprises me the most is to see that people are really changing. They are growing, there is more community spirit. People are taking the safety of the neighborhood into their own hands,” he stressed.
There are many projects emerging contemplating art and urbanism. When young people get together to do good for the neighborhood, it's not just the young person who wins, but the entire community.
Researchers say that there should be more political actions that value the work of a graffiti artist. In the images of this community, it is possible to perceive the beautiful result that not only made the community more beautiful, but also reduced the rates of violence.
What did you think of the images? Who knows, maybe this project will spread around here, in España? How about our more colorful, lively and less violent communities? The world thanks you.
Germ Crew Photos
Article written by Angélica Weise from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team.
