Photo by Daniela Abarca
On the street of Tirrases of Curridabat, in Higuerón district, there is a 220-meter-long, up-to-4 meter-high mural.
This is the longest mural in Costa Rica. But its size is not the only thing that attracts attention, even its dimensions are not that important when it comes to its meaning.
Si yo fuera de algún lugar, tendría que ser de aquí, del canto del corazón, del suelo donde nací,
it is now written in the mural.
A correct translation would be: If I were from somewhere I would have to be from here, from the song of the heart, from the ground where I was born.
If it sounds familiar, it is because the phrase is inspired in the song “El barrio de los Jazmines” of the national group Malpaís.
The idea to build a mural came from the Municipality of Curridabat. It hired Proyectos Yuso for its execution.
Its goal was to capture the sense of community and express it. So, before choosing the message, they did workshops with the neighbors to know what they wanted to say to Costa Rica and the whole world.
Then, they found the phrase in Tirrases, a community that is stigmatized, since everybody thinks it is a dangerous place and if a person goes there, he or she will be attacked.
The mural background has drawings made by residents of the area and the phrase was made by the hired artists.
The Municipality of Curridabat invested ¢ 17 million. The producer also helped with the donation of other companies, which reached ¢ 8 million colones.