Mexico revives a tradition of painting murals with a purpose

IZTAPALAPA, A TEEMING neighbourhood on the outskirts of Mexico City, is largely a sprawl of grey concrete. But look down from the cable car that soars above it—a city initiative that helps densely packed residents get around—and the aerial view is punctuated by brightly painted rooftops. Down here, a likeness of Mercedes Hernández, an actor. Over there, a boy and a girl at play, beneath the slogan: “We are equal”. On the ground, pedestrians navigate streets lined with portraits of locals, past and present, or pictures of crops formerly grown in this once-rural area.