For decades, the towns have been engaged in a relentless struggle against ostracism, looking for ways to attract young people and revitalize rural life. There are few better examples than Penelles, a small municipality in the province of Lleida, with no more than 500 inhabitants, but with two local companies dedicated to design.
Supported by the City Council, they gave birth to a festival that has already become one of the most important in Spain and has turned the town into one of the national graffiti capitals.
The town that is a work of (urban) art.
This is the Gargar Festival of Murals and Rural Art, thanks to which the village has been decorated over the last five years with the works of numerous artists. Many of the facades of the village are painted with portraits, some of them of the villagers themselves, but also with works and murals of all kinds.
Thus, the streets become a spectacle that attracts more and more lovers of graffiti and art in general.
The initiative has been catching on in the rural world. For this reason, some towns have already been inspired by the Gargar Festival, such as the towns of Cheste in Valencia and Fresnedillas de la Oliva in Madrid. Now they all want to become the capital of what is known as “street art”.
In addition, the walls of Penelles are painted throughout the year, making the village a perfect destination for a getaway at any time of the year.