City-Wide Mural Project

This past summer the city of Encarnación finished its costanera "riverside walkway" and river beach front just in time for the city's big tourist event of carnival. People from all over Paraguay and other nations flocked to the city to see the parades and enjoy the local sites. All of this movement got me thinking about potential projects that could be based on Encarnación’s newest hot topic: tourism.  

What do tourists want in a city? While good food and interesting activities are among the most commonly thought-of tourists wants, the attractiveness of the city and feeling of security are equally as important.

With a background in public relations, I know that with any new idea knowing how to “sell” it to those that may not yet understand its full value is extremely important. After speaking to the president of a local university, I began to plan of how I would teach the students of its public relations department to sell my idea to the public and municipality of Encarnación. And so, the mural project began.

Although it is not a new project to other cities and countries around the world, my mural project was the first of its kind here in Encarnación, Paraguay. After taking numerous pictures of walls with graffiti and others with nothing at all, I laid out a plan to brighten the atmosphere of the city, to involve local citizens in the process as volunteers and to show how the project could help with local tourism. To me painting colorful murals featuring the past and present of Encarnación could only lead to positive results. The young people of Encarnación would have the chance to show their skills and talents; local volunteers would have the opportunity to give back to their community; and citizens and tourists alike would have a cleaner and more enjoyable environment.

After getting “the go” signal from the municipality, the university students and I started making noise about the project. Together we went to speak to high school and university students about the two principle parts of the project: the competition and volunteerism. Those who wanted could design and submit a potential mural were presented with the four project themes: the Jesuit ruins, carnival, the lower zone (a former part of the city that was destroyed with the construction of the costanera) and the Paraguayan train. We explained that five designs would be selected to paint on walls that were on heavily-trafficked streets in the downtown area. Additionally, those students who were not interested in designing a mural, but did want to get involved were told that artistic abilities were not a requirement to participate in the painting of the murals, and each received a volunteer form to turn-in at a later date.

Now that the designs had been chosen and volunteers recruited, what was next step? Permissions. Property owners were presented with information packets and asked to sign agreements to show their support of the project and to give permission to paint on their walls and/or buildings. 

The weeks passed and the weekend of the event arrived. With funds from the municipality and the help of more than 60 individuals (students, local artists, professionals, Peace Corps volunteers), the five murals were successfully painted during the allotted time period. Although the temperature was in the 90s, the volunteers drank their terere and worked cheerfully throughout the entire weekend. The end results were overwhelming. Each mural featured a unique artistic style and told a different story of Encarnación and its people.

The week following the event the pictures of the completed murals began to appear on Facebook. A story featuring the project was printed in one of Paraguay’s most circulated, national newspapers, and video clips of the event were played on a local news station. It is my hope that the excitement continues, that tourists for years to come will take pictures of themselves in front of the murals and that others will ask them, “Where did you take that picture?” And that they will reply, “The beautiful city of Encarnación.”

Lastly, what was the most rewarding part of the project? I would have to say it was the reply that I received from one of the young people whose design was chosen. Trembling with excitement, after receiving the news that his design would be painted near the city plaza, the 15 year-old boy told me “Esto es mi sueño.” This is my dream.