Splashes of colour adorn Lima neighbourhood, forming massive city mural

Rainbow colours are splashed across small houses in a once grey neighbourhood of Peru’s capital city, creating the optical illusion of a giant mural across San Cristobal hill which can be seen from various vantage points across Lima.

***The San Cristobal neighborhood’s mountainside display of painted houses and murals is seen above a lower-lying area of the city, in Lima, Peru November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda***

The project in Lima’s Leticia neighborhood started five months ago and is being headed by muralists Carla Magan and Daniel Manrique. The effort aims to improve the lives of those in the COVID-hit community and promoting tourism.

“This hill was considered an unsafe area in the city. It was said that this neighbourhood was dangerous,” said Manrique. “We decided to change that social stigma through art.”

Bright paintings adorn many buildings in the neigbourhood and workers are busy daubing steps and stone walls in cheerful hues of yellow and orange. Sitting on San Cristobal hill, the artwork covers over 300,000 square meters (74 acres).

A worker walks near a mural in the neighborhood of San Cristobal, whose colorful mountainside display of painted houses and walls is visible from other parts of the city, in Lima, Peru November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda
Workers paint a staircase in the neighborhood of San Cristobal, whose colorful mountainside display of painted houses and murals is visible from other parts of the city, in Lima, Peru November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda
Children play beside a mural in the neighborhood of San Cristobal, whose colorful mountainside display of painted houses and walls is visible from other parts of the city, in Lima, Peru November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

The ambitious project has the backing of Lima’s municipal authority and a local painting company Qroma, with residents helping to paint the buildings and to bring the massive mural to life.

“It has been our response as neighbours, residents and artists to try and generate a change in our neighbourhood through the energy of colour,” said Magan.

“To improve the mood of our entire population still affected by COVID-19 and so help our neighbourhood develop in a sustainable way.” (Reuters)