Not far from where I live, in the neighborhood of San Miguel Chapultepec (the exact location is the corner of Molinos del Camo and Francisco Fagoaga just before it runs into Avenida Constityentes), there is a mural that has been up for several years. The visual image is not particularly spectacular, being rather modest in size and reserved in its range of colors.
Its message, however, is more than clear, sending a shiver down the spine if you stop and think about it. This is no abstract art, with curious symbolism, dependent on the viewer's interpretation. Instead, there is an objective fact being communicated:
Every Day Six Women Die as a Result of Gender Violence
The image painted in black, white, and gray tones, shows a woman standing next to the outlines of six bodies, painted on the ground like in a crime scene investigation. On her shirt she's wearing the portrait of one of the victims, as she may be wondering whether she is next to be killed.
Next to this image, the greatest part of the mural is painted plain yellow, with the lettering informing us of this sad statistic. Above and below, we learn that this wall was dedicated by ParedesVsCensura to share this information. The signature on the right side tells us that the artist who painted this mural is Ale R Antillón, on whose Twitter profile the same mural is used for background. The year she painted this was 2015.
Fast Forward to Now: The Only Thing That Has Changed is the Number
Only six blocks further, on the Diagonal Patriotismo, there is another, very similar mural, painted only this year. It shows the face of a woman, this time a certain person, named María Jesús Jaimes Zamudio. She was a nineteen year old girl, who died as a result of being thrown out of the window of her own apartment, as we can learn from the artist's Instagram page. On the two sides of her portrait the word read NI UNA MÁS that is "NOT ONE MORE".
Further out on the two sides of the picture, as well as on the sidewalk below it, the updated statistic can be read: In Mexico Nine Women Are Assassinated Every Day. That means, in the last four years, since 2015 when the first mural was painted, the rate of feminicide has increased by 50%!!! Let's stop for a second to consider this horrible development.
The artist behind this second mural is Geurch Stencil whose Instagram page show us that he has created a number of similar murals, remembering the victims of feminicide.
If you liked this, check out my developing series on Mexican murals:
- All Your Favorite Mexican Motives
- Aztec Legends in Metro Tacubaya
- Tlaloc in His Element
- Illuminated Illumination
- The Rapidly Changing Wall of La Casa Picnic
- Axolotls Wherever You Look!
- Axolotl in the Parque Lira
- A Healing Mermaid Under Mexican Skies
- Skate On Forever
- Four Sides of a Water Box
- The Children of the Feathered Serpent
- Painted Garage Doors
- New Stairs-Art in my Neighborhood
- Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central
- La Familia Burrón in the Center
- Playing With Bugs on the Rooftop
- A Journey Through Rock and Roll
- Elite Warriors in the Parque México
- Laboratory Work on the Cocoa
- High Above the City
- Feminist Mural on a Blue-Collar Business
- Not Much New in Almost a Year
- Commercial Murals for Small Businesses
- A Mural for a Movie
- Get to Know Your Local Cacti
- New Images Covering Old Ones
- A Warrior Princess in Mazunte
- A Cartoon with a Public Health Message
- Murals Under Periferico
- Murals of the Barrio in Aguascalientes
- Respected and Less Respected Paintings
- Under Metro Line 4
- ChaliaKiller's – Murals, Chilaquiles, and Lots More
- A Familiar Face
- Political Expression: the Painting is on the Wall
- Different Types of Wall Paintings
- The Beauty of Death and the Struggle of Life
- Winston Churchill and the Bike Movement
Please check out these great communities I'm contributing to:
#ecotrain | What is EcoTrain | Discord Community
#tribesteemup |The 8 Pillars of @TribeSteemUp
#team-mexico | Discord Community
#cyclefeed | Introducing CycleFeed | Discord Community