The town of Fanzara in rural Castellon has just over 300 residents and some of the most colorful and unusual art to be seen anywhere. It’s just celebrated its second annual urban art festival. The festival uses the walls of the village as a canvas for colorful designs.
Well-known outdoor and street artists spent four days in July creating murals for the festival, which comes from an initiative started by a local resident, Javier Lopez, who was concerned that the town was fading away, with its young people headed for the cities and jobs.
Still small, Fanzara now has a thriving artistic community, which not only keeps stores and other businesses going, it also attracts visitors to what the town calls the MIAU, the Museo Inacabado de Arte Urbano, or Unfinished Museum of Urban Art. Although “urban” may be a stretch…