A Notoriously Rough Neighborhood in Mexico has been Turned into a Work of Art

*Wow! Our thanks to our partners at MiTú for this wonderful story. VL

By Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez, MiTú

Art can be a very powerful thing. Just ask the residents of Palmitas in Pachuca, Mexico.

Palmitas is a small neighborhood with a big crime problem.

Located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, violent crimes have plagued the 457-family community.

Pachuca’s government has attempted to decrease violent crime in several ways.

Instalamos cámaras de video vigilancia en puntos estratégicos de #Palmitas #PachucaSePinta #Macromural #C2Municipal pic.twitter.com/QQ2SV3xPT2

— Stefanía García (@_StefaniaGarcia) July 16, 2015

Surveillance cameras and increased police presence have been implemented to curb violent crime. But you know what they say: if you look good, you’ll feel good.

Enter bad-ass street artists, Germen Crew.

The municipal government in Pachuca hired the street artists to help beautify Palmitas.

First, they painted the neighborhood white.

  This is what it looked like when they were done.

Not bad, right? WAIT.

German Crew got to work…

  And this is what it looked like when they were done.

  One word.

Now, Palmitas is home to the largest mural of its kind in Mexico.

Enrique Gomez, one of the members of Germen Crew, told Quartz: “The neighborhood is not the same as when we arrived. Now you can breathe colors everywhere.”

The neighborhood’s new paint job is already being recognized around the world.

  Germen crew isimli bir grup Meksika Pachuca’da 209 tane evi boyamış.Şölen.Şu da instagramları https://t.co/urE1wpESho pic.twitter.com/Jk75eEjgR0 — erevis padmanatha (@erevistekeri) July 27, 2015

Want to see more? Here’s a video of German Crew working on the Palmitas mural.

This article was originally published in MiTú.