A massive mural project in Mexico City is transforming some of the poorest neighborhoods

Iztapalapa feels like a city within a city. With close to 2 million residents, it is the most populous borough of Mexico City, Mexico, and also the poorest. Residents often experience water shortages and are exposed to high levels of pollution and crime. But walking down the streets of Iztapalapa feels like visiting a street art exhibition.

Pedro Peña, or Mickrone as he likes to be called, is one of 150 artists recruited by the local government to create the murals.

“I can’t even remember how many walls I’ve painted here, but it’s for sure in the hundreds,” he said while giving a walking tour.

In total, close to 11,000 murals have been created by local artists over five years in Iztapalapa. That’s the largest mural project in the world, according to the local government.

The murals are on public buildings, private businesses and homes, even on rooftops — visible from cable cars — and they depict local stories, traditions, characters and neighbors from the area.

Mickrone is especially proud of one of his murals, which went viral on social media.It shows two elderly residents and long-time lovers who were frequently seen in the area. The man is guiding his wife in a wheelchair. He explained that many murals portray locals and everyday scenes — like the man who collects the neighborhood’s garbage or the woman who kneads the dough at the bakery.

The Iztapalapa mural project started as a push to improve the lives of women, in an area where femicides remain a big issue.

María Antonieta Pérez Orozco, former executive director of the City of Iztapalapa, said the municipal security strategy involved installing hundreds of street lights and deploying police officers, but it also involved embellishing the streets with murals.

Many of the murals also convey messages, such as “stop violence” or “If he hits you, he doesn’t love you.”

“At first, people didn’t want murals because they didn’t trust the street artists to do a good job,” Orozco said. But now, people are requesting murals — just like 8-year-old Luciana Daniel recently did.

After her parents agreed, Mikrone painted the child wearing an astronaut suit because, as she explained, one of her dreams is to go to the moon.

“I can’t believe that’s me in front of my house,” Daniel said, referring to her mural.

Mickrone said that the mural also sends an aspirational message to other girls in the barrio, or neighborhood.

Daniel’s mom, Carmen Solís, said the murals have changed the face of the place.

“Everything was gray and dull, and now it’s colorful and bright,” Solís said. And also, as a woman, she said she feels safer walking the streets of Iztapalapa.

Mickrone and his colleagues have now moved to San Juan Tlihuaca, another Mexico City neighborhood, where they hope to conduct a similar intervention.