The rebirth of Los Mártires through muralism
When someone says "Bogotá" and thinks of street art, the first thing that comes to mind is La Candelaria. But for a couple of years now, those who truly live the scene know that the heart of street art in the capital is beating a few blocks to the west, in a neighborhood that for decades was synonymous with danger and abandonment: Los Mártires. Here, among mechanic workshops, shoe factories, and rooming houses, the walls have become an open-air museum that few tourists know about.
The story of this rebirth is no coincidence. In 2019, a collective of local artists, together with the Local Mayor's Office and several community foundations, promoted the project "Mártires, Galería a Cielo Abierto". The idea was simple but powerful: to intervene abandoned facades and gray walls with large-format murals that told the stories of the neighborhood, its people, and its memory. By August 2026, there are already more than 120 registered murals in a corridor of about 15 blocks, and the neighborhood has begun to breathe differently.
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Los Mártires carries a heavy historical weight. Its name recalls the heroes executed during the Spanish reconquest in 1816, and its territory was, during the 20th century, a prosperous industrial and commercial sector. But the decline came with the textile crisis and disordered migration. Today, however, brushes and spray cans are writing a new chapter. And the best part: you can explore it yourself, safely and with the right guidance.
If you come to Bogotá looking for something beyond the postcards, this route will show you a city that refuses to give up. Here, there are no Instagram filters that matter: the art is raw, stuck to reality, and that is precisely what makes it so powerful.
Secret route: the 10 must-see murals and their stories
Before heading out for a walk, be clear about this: Los Mártires is not a theme park. It is a living neighborhood with complex dynamics. The route I propose mainly covers the sector between Avenida Caracas, Calle 19, Carrera 27, and Calle 22. It's about 15 walkable, flat blocks that you can do in two hours if you stop to look at each piece calmly. Better yet if a local or a guide from the collective accompanies you (I'll tell you how at the end).
1. "La Niña del Globo" – Calle 22 with Carrera 24
This is probably the most photographed mural in the neighborhood. The work of DJ Lu, a Bogotá-born artist who worked for years in the Bronx (the old sector of Calle 9, not the New York one). The girl holds a red heart-shaped balloon while looking west, right where the sun sets. DJ Lu once told me she painted it thinking of the children who grew up watching violence from their windows. "The balloon is the memory that doesn't let go," she said. It's on the facade of an old textile factory, and the contrast between exposed brick and vibrant color is impressive.
2. "El Pescador de Sueños" – Carrera 25 with Calle 21
A mural over 15 meters high, the work of the collective La Libélula. It depicts an elderly man casting a fishing rod toward a sea of clouds, but hanging from the hook are small colorful houses. It's a metaphor for the gentrification that many neighborhood artists fear: fishing for dreams without losing roots. The technique is impeccable, with a use of perspective that deceives the eye. It looks best from the opposite corner, so cross the street to appreciate it in full.
3. "Memoria Textil" – Calle 20 with Carrera 26
Los Mártires was the center of the footwear and garment industry in Bogotá. This mural, created by Stinkfish (one of the most recognized artists on the Bogotá scene, who grew up in the neighboring neighborhood of Kennedy), pays tribute to the seamstresses who worked in the area's workshops. The work mixes stencil technique with real portraits of women who still live in the neighborhood. Notice the details of the hands: every wrinkle, every thread, is painted with obsessive precision.
4. "El Abrazo" – Carrera 27 with Calle 22
This mural is hard to ignore: two human figures fused in an embrace, but their bodies are composed of fragments of Bogotá maps. It was painted by Grafik, an artist who worked for years in the Bronx and now leads art workshops for young people in Los Mártires. The idea, according to him, is that "the city only holds together when we embrace each other, even those who are different." It's a powerful message in a neighborhood that has historically been stigmatized.
5. "Mariposas de Acero" – Calle 19 with Carrera 24
This mural is special because it's not painted, but constructed. The artist Mónica Naranjo installed hundreds of metallic butterflies recycled from local industry, each hand-painted with fluorescent colors. By day, they look like an explosion of color; at night, if you pass with a UV flashlight, they glow in the dark. It's a tribute to the victims of the armed conflict who arrived in the neighborhood displaced, and to their capacity to be reborn. The work is on the facade of an old auto parts warehouse.
6. "Raíces Urbanas" – Calle 21 with Carrera 23
A collaborative mural that changes every six months. The idea of the collective Semilla Creativa is that guest artists intervene in a section of the wall, but always respecting the base: a large ceiba tree (the sacred tree of the Muisca people) that extends across the entire wall. In August 2026, the current layer shows faces of neighborhood social leaders, painted by young people from the community art program. It's a living mural, constantly evolving.
7. "El Vigía" – Carrera 26 with Calle 20
From a corner, an elderly man with dark glasses seems to observe all the movement of the neighborhood. It's a portrait of Don José, a 78-year-old shoemaker who has worked in Los Mártires for over half a century. The artist, Toxicomano, painted it as a tribute to the traditional trades that endure. The gaze of the portrait has an unsettling effect: it seems to follow you as you walk. Don José still works two blocks away, in his workshop on Carrera 24, and if you find him, he loves to pose for a photo with his work.
8. "El Río de la Vida" – Calle 22 with Carrera 22
This abstract-style mural covers an entire side of a residential building. The artist Ledania (another key figure in Bogotá's urban art) used blue and green tones to represent the ancient San Francisco river, which today runs underground beneath Avenida Jiménez. The work invites us to imagine what was there before the city was cemented over. It's a reminder that Los Mártires, like all of Bogotá, is built on a territory with water memory.
9. "Constelación de Oficios" – Carrera 25 with Calle 19
In this mural, the artist Guache (famous for his strokes reminiscent of pre-Columbian ceramics) drew a series of symbols representing the neighborhood's trades: the sewing needle, the shoemaker's hammer, the locksmith's key, the bus driver's steering wheel. They are arranged like a constellation, connected by golden lines. The idea is that work dignifies and connects the community. It's a mural best enjoyed up close, paying attention to each symbol.
10. "El Último Tranvía" – Calle 19 with Carrera 27
This is a social realism mural showing an old Bogotá streetcar, of the kind that ran until 1951, full of passengers with faces from different eras. The artist, Jotavr, painted it on the side wall of a warehouse that today is a community cultural center. The work speaks of the passage of time and how the neighborhood has witnessed the transformation of the city. At the bottom, there is a plaque with a QR code that leads to an archive of historical photos of the neighborhood, courtesy of the Fundación Gilberto Alzate Avendaño.
Local artists: conversations with the creators of change
Behind each mural there is a personal story, a commitment to stay in the neighborhood and transform it from within. I spoke with several of them for this article, and this is what they told me.
Grafik: from the Bronx to hope
Grafik (the artistic name of Andrés Ramírez) is 34 years old and started painting graffiti at 15, on the walls of the old Bronx. "It was another world," he recalls. "We painted fast, scared, looking over our shoulders." Today, his murals in Los Mártires are among the most visible, and his community workshop, which runs on Saturdays in a warehouse on Calle 21, receives about 40 young people from the area. "The a
