Walk enough of Comuna 13's murals and certain visual motifs start repeating -- birds, elephants, and specific color patterns show up across multiple pieces by different artists, and the repetition isn't coincidental.
Birds as a recurring symbol
Birds appear frequently across the neighborhood's murals, generally understood as representing freedom, transformation, and the ability to rise above a difficult past -- a fitting motif for a neighborhood whose entire tourism narrative centers on transformation.
Elephants and memory
Elephants show up in several pieces, often connected to themes of memory and resilience -- drawing on the popular association between elephants and long memory, applied here to a community's relationship with its own difficult history.
Why symbols repeat across different artists' work
Shared symbolism across multiple artists and collectives reflects a genuinely shared narrative the community has built around its own transformation -- these aren't isolated artistic choices but a kind of visual vocabulary the neighborhood's street art movement has developed collectively over time.
How to read a mural with this in mind
Rather than looking at each mural in isolation, look for how recurring symbols connect a specific piece to the broader narrative other murals in the neighborhood are also telling -- this reframes individual murals as part of an ongoing collective visual conversation.
A word of caution on interpretation
Symbolic meaning in community-created art can vary by artist and evolve over time -- a guide with direct knowledge of a specific piece's intent is a more reliable source than a general symbolic interpretation applied uniformly across all murals.
See the Murals in Person
A guided walk through Comuna 13's murals with a local guide who knows the artists and the stories behind each wall.
See Comuna 13 Tours & Prices →Frequently Asked Questions
What do birds represent in Comuna 13's murals?
Generally freedom, transformation, and rising above a difficult past -- a recurring theme fitting the neighborhood's transformation narrative.
Why do elephants appear in several different murals?
They're often connected to themes of memory and resilience, drawing on elephants' association with long memory applied to the community's history.
Do all artists use the same symbolism intentionally?
There's a shared visual vocabulary that's developed across the movement, though specific meaning can vary by artist -- a guide with direct knowledge of a piece is the most reliable interpretive source.