Mexican Murals - A Less Appreciated Wall Painting

Today I would like to present a mural that is not particularly impressive. Compared to many other stunning images, this one is rather benign. Which is precisely the reason I want to highlight it. Even though the person (or people) responsible for this painting may not be famous muralists, their final result looks amazing. Certainly, it beats an empty wall, but there is so much more in it: there is landscape, there is perspective, there are even columns, giving the viewer a feeling they are looking out from the archway of an old Mexican hacienda style building.

This mural is located in the Molino del Rey neighborhood, right next to the bicycle trail following Anillo Periferico, through the Bosque de Chapultepec. The nearest streets, ending in cul de sacs with a pedestrian access to the bike trail, are Topilejo and Monte Casino. I pass by here twice a week on my way to a class, and a few weeks ago a boring grey wall suddenly turned into an amazing view.

The landscape, once again, as in so many other examples, is most likely the Valley of Mexico before it became the city it is today, spread over six panels. The view includes a vast area of flat valley, probably chinampas that have grown out of the lake, and became farmland. The straight lines are canals, the only leftovers of the lake this whole valley used to be. For centuries they were important waterways around Mexico City, before they were turned into roads. In the background you can see the surrounding mountains.

On the left end of the mural, we can even see one of the rivers, maybe the Lerma or the Churubusco, which today are completely closed in, to flow out of sight through the city, in what looks like a long concrete coffin. As this mural shows, the rivers are still there, not just boxed in the urban sprawl, but in people's memories. This is an optimistic sign, offering hope that maybe one day they may flow again freely, bringing life to a place that at the moment doesn't appreciate them... despite the chronic water shortage the city suffers.

As I expected, there is no signature or tag of any kind on this wall painting. This is not uncommon, and there are many mind-blowing murals that have not been claimed by any artist. Though in this case I simply imagine some artistically inclined people from the neighborhood, of which there is no shortage in Mexico, who got together to beautify this wall. They might actually even be residents of the house it's part of. In any case, this type of mural is one of the things I really like about Mexico. I hope this painting will stay up for quite a while.