The Escuela México is a primary school built with Mexican aid after the catastrophic 1939 earthquake that destroyed much of Chillán. The school itself is unremarkable — an institutional building in a residential street — but inside the stairwell and library, two of Mexico's greatest muralists painted their vision of the solidarity between Chile and Mexico, the struggles of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and the history of both nations.
David Alfaro Siqueiros painted the stairwell walls and ceiling in a compressed, dynamic style typical of his mature work: a swirl of bodies, symbols, and historical figures that requires several visits to fully read. Xavier Guerrero painted the library in a calmer, more architectural mode. The combination is one of the most significant examples of Mexican muralism outside Mexico, and it sits completely unannounced in a school in a provincial Chilean city. Visits are usually possible during school hours; ask at the gate.