Origins
Rain in Medellín is not a climatic accident: it is a daily appointment. During April 2026, the afternoons continue to be a theater of gray clouds and sudden downpours that transform the streets into mirrors. But there is a place where that water not only wets, but reveals secrets: the Comuna 13. Here, for about five years now, a group of local artists began experimenting with hydro-sensitive pigments, creating murals that change, hide, or appear only when the sky opens up. It is not magic, it is chemistry applied to street art, and it has become a ritual that attracts travelers from all over the world.
The idea was born almost by accident. In 2019, the collective Casa Kolacho, known for its interventions on the escalators and alleys of the comuna, noticed that some of its oldest murals reacted strangely to humidity. A graffiti of a face, painted with cheap enamel, would smudge and reveal another drawing underneath. Instead of seeing it as a flaw, they understood it as an opportunity. They began to search for thermochromic and hydrochromic paints —those that change color or become transparent upon contact with water— and to design works that would only come to life under the rain.
📌 Transparency
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What started as a workshop game became a phenomenon of social technology. The artists not only wanted to surprise, but to tell stories that the community kept secret: messages of resistance, names of the disappeared, symbols of peace that are only revealed when the neighborhood gets wet. Today, walking through Comuna 13 during a downpour is like opening a book of sand that is written and erased with every drop.
Timeline or Historical Milestones
2019 – The First Experiment
Muralist Jeihhco, known for his portraits of Afro-Colombian women, paints a face on Calle 45 with Carrera 105. He uses normal acrylic paint, but applies a layer of water-soluble varnish over the eyes. When dry, the eyes appear closed; when it rains, the varnish dissolves and the eyes open. It is the first documented living mural in the comuna. The video recorded by a tourist goes viral on TikTok with over 2 million views.
2021 – The Colectivo Agua Viva is Born
Six local artists, including Diana “La Negra” and Carlos “Pincel”, found the collective Agua Viva. They obtain a donation of hydrochromic paints from a local university. They paint three murals on the escalator of Calle 45. Each one shows a butterfly that, when wet, unfolds wings with the names of victims of the armed conflict. The mayor's office of Medellín supports them with permits, but not with funds.
2023 – The Map of Hidden Murals
The collective launches a physical map, printed on biodegradable paper, sold at the entrance of the comuna for $5,000 COP. The map marks 12 murals with secret effects. It includes instructions like: “Wet your hand and touch the heart of the mural to activate it.” The map sells out in two weeks. By April 2026, there are 23 documented murals with rain effects, and the map is available for free download via a QR code on the escalators.
2024 – The First Official Rain Tour
The local agency Comuna 13 Tours launches the “Rain Ritual,” a nighttime tour that coincides with the rainy season (April to May and October to November). It includes transparent umbrellas, a water bottle to activate murals if it doesn't rain, and a guide who explains the chemistry behind each work. The tour costs $45,000 COP per person and lasts three hours. In 2025, it won the award for best urban art tour in Colombia according to Arcadia magazine.
Key Characters or Events
Jeihhco: The Pioneer of the Eyes That Wake Up
His real name is Jeferson Moreno, but everyone knows him as Jeihhco. He grew up in block 13 of the comuna, where he learned to paint with stolen spray cans. His most famous mural, “La mirada que espera” (The Gaze That Waits), is located at Calle 45 #105-12. When dry, it shows a girl with her eyes closed; when it rains, her eyes open and in her pupils appear the faces of her two brothers, murdered in 2002. Jeihhco says the rain is “the neighborhood's cry that forces us to remember.” Today he gives free workshops on Saturdays for young people who want to learn to paint with reactive pigments.
Diana “La Negra”: The Chemistry of Art
Diana is a biologist from the University of Antioquia and a self-taught artist. She was the one who researched homemade hydrochromic paint formulas: a mixture of India ink, glycerin, and a powder called microencapsulated zinc oxide. Her mural “El río de la memoria” (The River of Memory) at Carrera 106 with Calle 44 is a map of the comuna that, when wet, reveals the routes used by debris to come down during military takeovers. Diana states that her goal is “for the water to wash away indifference.”
The Downpour of May 13, 2022
That day, an atypical storm fell on Medellín for six consecutive hours. The murals of Comuna 13 all activated at the same time. Neighbors and tourists recorded the phenomenon: the butterflies on the escalator filled with names, the eyes of Jeihhco's girl opened, and on Diana's mural a phrase appeared that no one had seen before: “Here we bury our own, but not the memory.” The video accumulated 8 million views on Instagram. That day the myth was born that the rain in the comuna has “memory.”
Current Status
Today, in April 2026, Comuna 13 is a living laboratory of ephemeral art. The 23 murals with rain effects are distributed along a circuit that starts at Escalera Eléctrica 1 (near the San Javier Station of the Metro) and ends at the Mirador de la 13. Each mural has a QR code that explains its history and the best time to see it. Reference prices in April 2026 for a guided tour range between $40,000 and $55,000 COP per person, depending on whether it includes transportation from El Poblado or customized umbrellas.
The phenomenon has attracted anthropologists from the University of Antioquia, who study how the community uses water as a means of communication. There is also controversy: some older residents criticize that the murals “are only seen when it rains, and here rain has always been synonymous with cold and hunger.” But the artists respond that art does not erase pain, it transforms it. The Agua Viva collective now receives commissions from other comunas of Medellín, such as Comuna 8 and Comuna 9, to replicate the technique.
For tourists, the spontaneous experience remains the most authentic. If you walk without an umbrella on any Tuesday at 3 in the afternoon, when the sky turns gray, you will see the locals smile. They know that in five minutes the walls will start to speak. Organized tours, like the one from Comuna 13 Tours, offer an advantage: they carry water bottles to activate the murals if the rain doesn't show up, although in April the probability of a downpour is 90%. It is recommended to check schedules before visiting, as some murals require darkness to activate additional luminescent effects.
The curious fact that few know: the mural “La última carta” (The Last Letter), at Calle 44 #107-08, only activates with rainwater, not with bottled water. The artists used a specific pH that only the rain of Medellín has. If you try to wet it with tap water, nothing happens. It is a reminder that the ritual cannot be bought: you have to wait for the sky to decide.