Artists Reclaim Walls From Gangs in El Salvador

On walls where gang members in El Salvador once marked their territory, urban artists are now creating colorful murals as part of a traveling festival across the Central American country.
Cans of paint are used by a dozen artists to depict jaguars, faces, flowers, birds and other local elements. The latest murals were created in Concepcion de Ataco, Ahuachapan, a picturesque town nestled among coffee-growing mountains about 65 km west of San Salvador.
Isaac Sosa, 31, founder and organiser of the Pigmen Trip festival, said it was once “frightening” to paint murals in gang-controlled areas because of harassment and threats. The festival has been held for eight years in different locations and has produced more than 200 murals, featuring artists from El Salvador as well as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina.
Gangs have lost significant power following President Nayib Bukele’s security campaign launched in 2022, though the crackdown has faced allegations of abuses that could constitute crimes against humanity, according to NGOs.
“With this change, this rebirth we are experiencing as a country...it’s a different atmosphere, more peaceful, more enjoyable, and with greater freedom of expression,” Sosa said.
Muralist Darwin Flores, 36, recalled that artists previously had to carefully plan every detail before entering gang-controlled areas. Today, he says, he can enter neighbourhoods that were once considered dangerous.
Cristian Juarez, 29, who paints with a prosthetic leg after losing his right leg in an accident, said the situation is now “very different.”
“Years later, we won back the walls from the gangs,” Sosa said, describing art as a “magical tool” for social transformation. -AFP