On the walls of the penitentiary center Castellón II, in Albocàsser, the large format mural with the central figure of Bob Marley as a symbol “of the struggle for freedom and equality”, which for five days have been designed by the Alicante graffiti artist Rudi Art and the Murcian artist José Javier López, Jota. This is a new action framed in the program of activities promoted by the Rototom Sunsplash festival and its Cultural Association Exodus to bring the essence of the macro reggae event to the prison population.
The director of Rototom Sunsplash, Filippo Giunta, and Fiachra Mc Donagh, director of the sustainability and solidarity area of the festival, together with the deputy director of Treatment, María Martínez, visited the center to see the mural already finished, “which has caused the expectation of inmates and officials,” according to the prison.
The work is 3.5 meters high by 18 meters long and features the figure of Marley among multiple nods to the versatility and philosophy of Jamaican music and culture.
It has been created by the Alicante graffiti artist Rudi Art, a regular collaborator of the festival, in spaces such as the Dancehall and winner of the National Graffiti League in 2023, which had as a prize to export his work to the New York neighborhood of Brooklyn; and by Jota, designer of the cover of ‘Inkebrantable’, the latest album of the Sevillian rap duo SFDK, who will perform on the Main Stage of Rototom Sunsplash on Sunday, August 18, 2024.
Jota and Rudi Art were also winners of the National Graffiti and Street Art Contest of Cartagena in 2021.
“The professionalism of the graffiti artists has been spectacular; with a quality and detailed work they have made a graffiti that evokes joy and causes a smile,” they emphasize from the Social Education department of the penitentiary center, which together with the direct involvement of the Subdirectorate of Treatment of Castellón II have been key to materialize this new action.
“Bob Marley symbolizes the struggle for freedom and equality. He dedicated his life to music, but also to the struggle against oppression and racial discrimination. His music is a call for unity, peace and justice,” added the same sources.
Above the mural opens the message ‘Be patient with yourself. Swim in nature. Blossom all year round’. A slogan that “will endure over time in the roads of the Castellón II Penitentiary Center,” they explain.
This new activity gives continuity to the thirteen years of collaboration between Rototom Sunsplash and the Castellón II Penitentiary Center. The festival is considering new proposals to be implemented in the center during the month of August.
Rototom Sunsplash is held in Benicàssim from August 16 to 21. The international event will once again promote the values of sustainability, inclusion and respect for the environment that surround each edition, which seeks to create a space for peaceful coexistence with music and culture as tools for unity and social transformation.
