The Dream That Cannot Be Erased

True liberation is collective

Mural on Avenida Manuel Maria Portela in Setúbal, Portugal, photographed by the author

A new mural went up near my home in Portugal recently. In a town that has long garnished its walls with colorful paintings, a new mural is not an unusual occurrence. But this one was unusual because three days after the artists put down their paintbrushes, their work was gone — obliterated by thick smears of white paint slathered across the wall.