A Notoriously Rough Neighborhood in Mexico has been Turned into a Work of Art

*Wow! Our thanks to our partners at MiTú for this wonderful story. VL


By Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez, MiTúmitu_logo

Art can be a very powerful thing. Just ask the residents of Palmitas in Pachuca, Mexico.

Palmitas is a small neighborhood with a big crime problem.

CREDIT: GOOGLE MAPS
CREDIT: GOOGLE MAPS

Located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, violent crimes have plagued the 457-family community.

Pachuca’s government has attempted to decrease violent crime in several ways.

Surveillance cameras and increased police presence have been implemented to curb violent crime. But you know what they say: if you look good, you’ll feel good.

Enter bad-ass street artists, Germen Crew.

Screen-Shot-2015-07-27-at-3.33.21-PM
CREDIT: @ROBERTOALVA4 / TWITTER

The municipal government in Pachuca hired the street artists to help beautify Palmitas.

First, they painted the neighborhood white.

CREDIT: YOAN BELTRÁN / YOUTUBE

 

  This is what it looked like when they were done.

palmitas-white
CREDIT: YOAN BELTRÁN / YOUTUBE

Not bad, right? WAIT.

German Crew got to work…

yellow
CREDIT: @YTEANG / TWITTER

 

  And this is what it looked like when they were done.

color
CREDIT: GERMEN CREW / FACEBOOK

 

  One word.

Now, Palmitas is home to the largest mural of its kind in Mexico.

palmitas_instAGRAM Enrique Gomez, one of the members of Germen Crew, told Quartz: “The neighborhood is not the same as when we arrived. Now you can breathe colors everywhere.”

The neighborhood’s new paint job is already being recognized around the world.

  Germen crew isimli bir grup Meksika Pachuca’da 209 tane evi boyamış.Şölen.Şu da instagramları https://t.co/urE1wpESho pic.twitter.com/Jk75eEjgR0 — erevis padmanatha (@erevistekeri) July 27, 2015

Want to see more? Here’s a video of German Crew working on the Palmitas mural.

This article was originally published in MiTú.


[Photo courtesy of Webcams de Mexico]
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