San Salvador, El Salvador

For decades, El Salvador ranked among the most dangerous countries in the world, with one of the highest homicide rates. Violence is a public health issue and has been recognized as such by the World Health Organization. The majority of the murders were linked to the infamous gangs. However, the homicide rate has fallen since 2015, and in 2022 the country boasted of the lowest homicide rate in Latin America and declared itself the safest country in the region.

While the Bukele Administration has embarked on a mass incarceration campaign of gang members since March 2021, the remnants of the gangs’ presence exists in the form of gang tags and graffiti in the communities they laid claim to. Young people in these communities, often the target for recruitment and violence by the gangs, say that these public messages contribute to feeling unsafe in their communities, and have undertaken campaigns to paint over the gang tags and reclaim their public space.

In the beginning of 2023, when asked about making a project exploring the questions of violence and safety in their communities, these San Salvadoran youth wanted to create a film documenting the covering of gang graffiti. That video was paired with interviews with the youth about their definitions of safety and how they wanted to be seen by the rest of the world.