Even before Trump became POTUS in January 2017, there were talks about him wanting to expand a wall in the U.S. borders with Mexico, in the hope of getting better control over immigration. As constructing walls has great historical significance, many people were not satisfied when the constructions started.

A Mexican artist that had lived in Tijuana for over a decade, and witnessed first-hand families separating over the years, decided to take action. He had other plans for those mile-long walls Trump was about to build. He was about to start creating what would be the longest mural the world had ever seen.

Meet Enrique Chiu, The Lord of Murals

 
So, in the winter of 2016, the artist named Enrique Chiu got busy. He had spent some time in California studying for his bachelor’s degree in design and audio-visual arts. Enrique is a seasoned artist, with his art having been shown in exhibitions all around the world.

He, together with a small (at the time) group of volunteers, has taken it upon themselves to start producing murals on the Mexican side of the wall. Ever since the first moment, Enrique has been trying to involve the community in his art.

El Muro de La Hermanidad - The Mural of Brotherhood

He called his ongoing project The Mural of Brotherhood. His plan was to cover the border walls with colorful murals to attract attention. A mural is considered to be any piece of artwork that’s created directly onto a wall, with the architectural characteristics of the structure, applied to the painting.

It was officially launched in December 2016. They didn’t have to wait long before they attracted attention to it. Even after just months having passed by, Enrique had already acquired a lot of followers and people who were willing to help him with this big project.

The Longest Mural In The World...

Enrique’s goal was pretty simple - he wanted to create a long mural. To be more exact, a 600-mile-long mural. Of course, it was a huge project to undertake but he had the will to do it. More importantly, he wasn’t alone as he’s had his volunteers with him from the very beginning.

When he finishes it, it will get written in the books as the longest mural in the world. No one has dared so far to do an artwork of that size and majesty. On top of that, The Mural of Brotherhood has such a symbolic meaning that makes it worth the attention.

...Instead Of The Rustiest Wall In The World

The wall was just sitting there. Ever since it was constructed, as Enrique himself had stated in an interview, they had never done any form of maintenance on it. It just stands there getting rustier and dirtier by the minute.

Especially after having seen what his community has been going through these past years, Enrique has the desire to give something back and to dedicate it to all the people who are looking for a better life while taking enormous risks. He wanted the mural to be a place where art and love would be appreciated.

The Longest Mural, Work In Progress

Enrique and his team most definitely had their work cut out for them. To create the longest mural of the world would take a huge amount of work. However, that never affected them from moving forward.

A bit more than a year after they had first started painting, they had already managed to cover up about 1,200 miles in Tijuana, 1,600 feet in the village of Tecate, and about the same in the Mexicali village. People from all over the world have already gone to see the artworks and help them with completing their cause.

The Current Record Holder

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the mural that holds, today, the record of being the longest is located in Pueblo, Colorado. The project is called the Pueblo Levee Mural Project and dates back to the '70s. It’s a mural placed along a levee in the Arkansas River.

Being three miles long, with continuous paintings, the mural is hard to keep intact. Over the years, it has gone through many modifications. For the first two decades, it was an unofficial project since random students (like high school kids) had begun painting on it at night. It only got a dedicated coordinator keeping track of its progress in 1988.

The Pieces of Art

The art depicted on The Mural of Brotherhood often includes images that can be found in Mexican folklore. Pretty and loud images, containing flowers, animals, and many influential words with strong messages can be found on every single inch of the mural.

Creating one single art piece on the wall may take from a single day up to several weeks of work at a time. It always depends on the size and complexity of each art piece. The beauty of it is that to participate, you don’t even have to have a fancy art degree; just show up and be willing.

With A Little Help From His Friends

According to Enrique, ever since he's started the project, over 3,700 people have shown up to help. There are visitors that have come from various different backgrounds with an entirely different set of skills. What every single person that has shown up has in common, is the urge to spread a positive message.

Having started with just a small group of volunteers, the number of people that have shown up to help today isn't some kind of an accident. After all, the message about world peace and bridge-building is being sent throughout every single art piece in the mural.

Creating The Canvas

Enrique is grateful to all the people who have been helping out. After all, he understands very well the importance of The Mural of Brotherhood being a group and a community project. It is certain that without the volunteers, none of it would have escalated as much as it has.

Sometimes, in the spirit of helping and guiding one another, Enrique sets out creating outlines for people to work on. Attempting to make the project collaborative, people rush to fill the outlines with colors of their choice on the canvas that Enrique has created for them.

Just Keep Painting

The project Enrique has undertaken is most definitely an enormous one for just one person to handle by himself. Even with all the help he’s managed to get, the project will still need years for it to become the largest mural in the world.

They have already managed to paint a total of two miles of the border wall, but they will need to continue working at the same pace or even more time if they want to finish it. After all the time that has passed, Enrique hasn’t lost his determination, on the contrary, he’s gained even more will to see the mural finished one day.

Devoted To Making The World A Better Place

Creating a positive impact on the world is something that many people dream of doing. Many people who have the means, turn into charity and make donations. However, and quite unfortunately, the majority of people nowadays does not have what it takes to make an impact in that way.

All Enrique wants to do, is to play his part in making the world a better place. Especially after the impact he has done so far, one would say he’s been achieving it. He has already managed to fill people with positive feelings as well as convey messages through his huge canvas.

All The Experience That Brought Him To Tijuana

However, the mural wasn’t Enrique’s first project. He was living in the U.S. before he got offered a job in Tijuana. In 2008, there was a red alert issued for Tijuana as well as a travel warning. The streets were flooded with drugs and crime and the city was no longer safe.

That was when Enrique was called in to become an Art Promoter for the city of Tijuana. After spending some time there, he ended up falling in love with the city and decided to stay. Soon enough, he was fed up with the border wall and what it symbolized, and raced to give it meaning.

Provider Of Emotional Support

Over the years that Chiu spent calling Tijuana his home, he witnessed and heard many sad stories about the walls of the city. These were stories of families being torn apart, and the risks all the people had to take. The walls were viewed as a symbol of racism, and as a dream that all the people in Mexico shouldn’t dare to have.

Enrique considers his work to be helpful to all the immigrants. Even though it won’t help them with their money problems, it will support them emotionally and socially. It’s but a reminder that united, people can achieve anything they set their minds to.

An Immigrant Himself

Having lived himself on both sides of the border, Enrique is able to understand what the hundreds of people that pass the border every day have to go through. During his time in the U.S., despite all his experience, he was having problems getting his art out there for the people to admire.

Ever since he moved to Tijuana, he became acquainted with an even larger amount of problems. There are those with meager earnings, families getting reunited through the border walls as well as the tragic stories from people that have tried to cross them and failed.

No Walls, No Borders

Even though his main goal is to change how the walls are seen within the city, for them to no longer symbolize death, tragedy, division, and discord, Enrique has another intention. He also wishes to use The Mural of Brotherhood as a form of protest against the very wall itself.

He knows the mural won’t last forever. As he has stated, all artists that paint outside, know that their art won’t last. As in fact, it is uncertain if the wall is going to be replaced once he’s done painting it or not. That fact, however, doesn’t keep him from moving forward with the project.

Walls Don't Maintain Peace

For as long as the people from Tijuana can remember, there has always been a wall along the city’s borders. While the people responsible for the walls state that they’re there in an effort to maintain peace in the world, Enrique thinks otherwise.

The way to create world peace, according to Chiu, isn’t by building walls and keeping people intentionally separated, but by promoting equality through education. So far, in his mind, with all the experiences he has had in his life, it’s become clear that only violence and racism are being promoted instead.

The U.S. Immigration System

It’s no secret that immigration has always been a huge deal in the U.S. Currently, over the 327 million people living in the States, there are an estimated 34 million lawful immigrants and a million of people with temporary visas. The number includes those with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or with temporary protected status.

The emphasis on being granted a green card is set on families being reunited or based on existing employment. Even though there have been various proposals for having the Immigration System changed according to the education and employment qualifications, nothing has happened yet.

Being Granted The Permission

With Chiu undertaking such a large project, it was bound to be discovered by the authorities sooner or later - even without the help of Social Media monitoring. Given that Mexico laws prohibit painting on the walls, Enrique would have to win yet another battle if he wanted his ideas to take physical form.

Luckily for him and all the people that have set to help him over the years, Enrique was able to secure permission for his county to make The Mural of Brotherhood a reality. At least from Mexico’s side of the wall, he is allowed to paint for as long as he wishes.

Can't Stop Him From Dreaming

Enrique has already gone to great lengths in order to paint the border walls with his team. It’s in his nature, however, not to stop dreaming, and pushing his project even further. Even though they have a lot of work to do yet, he doesn’t want to stop there.

One day, he dreams of being able to paint in the side of the U.S. as well. After all, his core purpose for the mural is to be binational. He has already managed to unite people from different backgrounds, but being able to paint the other side as well would be an even bigger dream come true.

A Wall Of Symbols

Everyone who has participated in Enrique’s project wants to have his or her voice heard. Enrique, having a very specific goal set in his mind, has created but one rule; we will not talk bad about each other, and we will only paint positive images. The walls have seen enough sadness already.

Imagine that ever since the '90s, there have been over 6,000 bodies found in borders and most of them were immigrants. Instead of having a constant reminder inside the cities, of the ugly and anxiety-causing experiences that people have gone through associated with the walls, he wants it to symbolize unity.

Happy, Vibrant & Eye-Catching

Ever since the very first art piece was painted on the walls, they were created to be happy, vibrant and eye-catching. He knows that the paintings are not meant to last forever but hopes to create a legacy and written down in history.

In the walls near the sea, he has painted a person pointing near the end of the walls. There is also a 50-foot high sculpture being built, to go with the mural. Now, instead of the people having to walk by a rusty wall reeking of sadness, they go through a wall filled with positive messages.

Weekend Painting Sessions

Having taken up such a lengthy project, devoting all the days of the week to it would be a waste of energy.  Enrique has created a schedule and works on the mural during the weekends. In 2017, he launched his very own website, to try to recruit volunteers from all over the world to come and help him.

Now that years have gone by since he first took action, more than 3,000 people have visited him from all around the world and the results are amazing. Even though they have a lot of work ahead of them still, their weekend painting sessions have been incorporated into Enrique’s life.

Feel Free To Contribute

You don’t have to be granted special permission or attend painting classes in order to contribute. After all, it is called The Mural Of Brotherhood for a reason. Both adults and children have been more than willing to help and participate. With special guidance from Enrique and his team, anyone is welcome to join them.

The mural has managed to become a way to form special bonds between people. Every day that people show up to help, Enrique comes one step closer to making his dream of unity and love a reality for everyone.

A Wall That Unites, Not Divides

According to Enrique, it has been shown time and time again how walls can be used to divide people, both in history and in today’s reality. In this occasion, he wants these walls to do the opposite. Having walls separating you from another part of the world can feel claustrophobic.

Even though they have everything they might need, as long as the wall exists, the feeling of them not being welcome nor wanted will never stop following them. Enrique dreams of creating a borderless world not through education, but through art, where everyone is equally respected and loved.

No Message Must Be Left Unnoticed

There are lots of symbolic images painted on the mural - from the person that points to the sea to doves that symbolize peace. There are also entire areas painted in blue with the intention of them being merged with the blue of the sky.

As the wall keeps on being painted, even more, messages are able to get spread to the world. Chiu makes it a point to share his progress with pictures that he regularly takes from his phone. After all, no message nor image must be left unnoticed.

As Long As There Is Canvas, There Will Be Paintings

As the wall on the borders is being expanded, so does Enrique’s mural. No matter if they take the wall down along with all of his work, he will just grab his paintbrushes and spray cans and get back to work. In Chiu’s words, as long as he’s given the canvas, he will be painting, and it's not even about money!

And so that’s exactly what he’s doing. He started all the way back in December 2016, and he is still painting today. He hopes to one day complete the longest mural in the world while he keeps in mind the symbolic meaning of what he’s doing.

The People & The Stories Behind The Paintings

With everyone being from such different backgrounds, hearing some of their stories is extremely interesting. Enrique has made sure to make his thoughts heard, but what about all of the people that have shown up to help him? What has driven them to want to express themselves that way?

Most of the stories one would hear if they were to ask people from the brotherhood would be stories of separation (and not simply divorce), deportation, and adjustment to new lives. Others include people from both backgrounds that have been affected by the walls in different ways.

The Kids' Paintings

On occasions, entire classes of children come to participate in the mural being brought to life. Their teachers allow them to leave their books away for some time and go leave their personal mark on the wall. Most of the kids have witnessed first-hand the wall’s power.

Many of them have been separated with parts of their families that now live on the other side of the borderline. Sometimes, they might even get to meet with them over the wall, but not face to face. By letting them paint on the wall, it's a chance for them to leave their mark.

Tijuana, A City Of Art

Enrique, ever since he accepted the job in Tijuana, made it his purpose to shift the city’s legacy. He wants Tijuana to be known as a cultural and artistic center in Mexico rather than the city being known for its narcotics cartels and crime.

The Mural of Brotherhood itself is Chiu’s most ambitious project yet. He wants to see the city filled with expositions, workshops, and art of all forms. One would say that he is definitely on the way of making his dream come true. Not only has he changed Tijuana’s society, but he’s managed to shift minds over the years with his works.

Anything Is Possible

According to Enrique, it’s a common misconception that the American dream can only be lived in the U.S. Having lived on both sides of the wall himself, he understands completely that dreams can be achieved and lived in both the U.S. and Mexico. All one has to do is understand that, and work hard on achieving his goals.

He wants to allow people to have dreams and act on them on his side of the wall as well. Enrique hasn’t spent a weekend away from the wall since he started painting in 2016. He is currently painting in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, spreading his message and sharing experiences. What he's been doing can make any person smile!