There probably aren’t a lot of people in Japan that know this, but murals are one of Mexico’s signature art forms. They became popular during the Mexican muralism movement which took place during the Mexican Revolution in the 1920s and 1930s. The movement sought to move away from white supremacy and European aesthetic ideals, instead created art based on indigenous traditions. They also sought to communicate the significance and results of the socialist revolution to the common people, who were unable to read. Murals were the perfect format for these messages, since they could be placed outside for everyone to see.

Taro Okamoto, the artist famous for his Tower of the Sun sculpture, is said to have been heavily influenced by Mexican muralism. He traveled to Mexico, where he created the asu no shinwa (“Myth of Tomorrow”) mural that today is displayed in a passageway near JR Shibuya Station.

Muralism was just one of the factors that inspired the famous murals that you can see all over Mexico today.
Here are some of the ones you can see in Mexico City.

These are the stone murals at the Central Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The central campus of this college city has been listed as a World Heritage Site, and its most conspicuous structure is the Central Library. All four sides of the building are covered in mosaics featuring scenes from Mexican history.


This is also the site of the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, which was the main venue for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. It features this massive mural.

Now let’s look at Palacio Nacional, located at the Plaza del Zócalo at the heart of Mexico City.


On the wall of the central staircase that leads to the second floor is a mural titled The History of Mexico. It was created by Diego Rivera, one of Mexico’s three greatest mural artists, who is also known as having been married to a Mexican female painter Frida Kahlo. It is said to be his masterwork.



There are several murals in the hallway of the second floor as well, but it remains unfinished as apparently the hallway was never completed. All of the images here are large and dramatic.


Next is La Casa de los Azulejos (“House of Tiles”), located near the Palacio Nacional. It is currently operated by Sanborns, a family-style restaurant chain, but there are murals if you go to the second floor.


This mural, titled Omnisciencia (“Omniscience”), was painted by José Orozco in 1925. Across from it is a dining area, which has a pleasant atmosphere that makes it a quite popular location. Many people come here just to see the mural, but it’s a little hard to find and there is also more than one dining area—so I didn’t even notice it was here the first time I visited.
This mural is painted outside the entrance to the restroom, but I think it’s worth seeing because of how beautifully it decorates not only the wall, but the ceiling and the stairway as well.

The last mural is Castillo de Chapultepec, a castle located in Chapultepec park. Built in 1934 as a summer house for the viceroy of Spain, it later served a variety of functions before becoming the National Museum of History. There are murals from several of Mexico’s finest artists here.


This one is painted in a large stairway.
Castillo de Chapultepec was also used as the Capulet Mansion in the 1996 film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.

There are many other famous murals in the city, and if you walk through the streets you’ll notice that many of them change from time to time.
Murals are an art form that can’t be taken outside of the country, so make sure you take time to see them if you travel to Mexico.