Disappeared Women Memorialized In Juárez Murals
The Mexican border city of Juárez is trying to shake its reputation as one of Mexico's most dangerous cities. Meanwhile, a local artist is working to memorialize a group of young women who were among the victims of the most recent wave of violence.
Maclovio Macias is an artist who honed his craft on the streets of Juárez using the smog-glazed walls as his canvas. His latest inspiration came from marching 200 miles alongside mothers who's daughters went missing as the city buckled under a maelstrom of drug violence.
"You just hear what they say and you just cannot say, 'Well it doesn't exist,' because you see it on their eyes," Macias said.
In a residential neighborhood near a church, Macias painted the faces of those girls and their mothers. His color scheme looks electric against the dull concrete walls. One woman he painted went missing while her son was still in diapers. He's now six-years-old. Evidence collected by family members and police suggests she and dozens more may have been trafficked and later murdered.
Norma Ramirez, who lives in the neighborhood, said that while crime is down in Juárez, she still takes precautions.
"I tell my teenage daughters to be careful, don't come home too late and never go out alone," she said.
Six men are currently on trial accused of human
trafficking and murder in the deaths of 11 young Juárez women. The women's bone fragments where found in 2012 near a creek bed in the desert outskirts of the city.
