’Amor por Juarez’ Mural Project Across 200 Homes Aims to Lift Pride, Cut Crime Aileen B. Flores - El Paso Times
go to original May 15, 2017

Ricardo Fernandez, President of Amor Por Juarez, stands near the El Paso/Juarez border. Behind him on the Juarez side of the Rio Grande, are some of the 210 homes that his group are painting to create a mural by the colors painted on the homes to create the mural. (Ruben R. Ramirez/El Paso Times)

The Juárez-El Paso Magico project is adding color to the lives of hundreds of families in Juárez and to the commute of thousands of motorists who travel on Interstate 10 in El Paso.

More than 200 houses on the south side of the Rio Grande will serve as canvas to create one of Mexico’s largest murals just across from the University of Texas at El Paso.

The project is a binational effort to improve the safety and quality of life of a neighborhood that has experienced the violence in Juárez by giving residents a sense of pride and community.

Once completed, the 400,000-square-foot mural is expected to have a visual impact on both sides of the border, said Ricardo Fernandez, president of Amór por Juárez. The non-profit has partnered with FICOSEC, a trust for public safety funded by the private sector in the state of Chihuahua, and other private and public organizations in the border area to carry out the project.

The idea goes beyond coats of paint, Fernandez said.

It involves community programs and workshops aimed at creating a safe environment for residents of the Cazadores Juarenses, Paso del Norte and La Popular colonias — some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Northwest Juárez, he said.

Fernandez said the project is based on crime prevention through environmental design.

“It’s proven that there is less crime in places that are enhanced, illuminated or painted,” he said.

A part of the project, a community park was finished and other murals have been painted throughout the three neighborhoods. Even though only 210 houses will be used as canvas for the mural, 600 homes will be improved, Fernandez said.

Read the rest at El Paso Times

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