José Gregorio Hernández — Hamk Trazos, Petare
Hamk Trazos (Alejandro Molina) · La Alcabala, Petare · Sucre municipality, Miranda, Venezuela · 2025
Photo: Daniel de Jongh, as credited in Street Art Utopia’s archive; capture date not recorded. Full photograph shown; resized for display. Artwork: Hamk Trazos.
Eyes, ears and a moustache are split across the fronts of some 25 to 30 hillside houses, and the face only comes together as you move past. Hamk Trazos painted José Gregorio Hernández, the physician known as the “doctor of the poor”, across the La Alcabala sector of Petare to mark his canonization in October 2025. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 Checked
5 things to know
- Painted for a canonizationThe portrait was made to celebrate the canonization of the “Médico de los Pobres”. On 18 October, FM UC reported that the artist aimed to finish that weekend, in time for the canonization celebrations. AP described Hernández as about to become Venezuela’s first saint. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 · AP via BTA Checked
- Made to be seen on the moveDiario VEA calls it a kinetic mural that takes shape as the viewer moves, visible from the Gran Cacique Guaicaipuro highway. FM UC places it on the tallest houses, facing drivers on the Caracas–Oriente highway. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 Checked
- The job came through InstagramMolina told Diario VEA he was contacted via Instagram about an “unconventional project”, and that despite doubts and fears he said yes. Diario VEA Reported
- About two and a half weeks of workAccording to Diario VEA, painting took roughly 16 to 17 days and covered about 25 to 30 houses. Diario VEA Reported
- Photographed as it was finishedAn AP photograph by Ariana Cubillos, dated 16 October 2025, shows house facades in Petare bearing Hernández’s image. FM UC credits progress images to Daniel Hernández García, and the Tricontinental institute later ran his photograph of the mural, credited to @hamktrazos; it shows the same block of hillside houses. AP via BTA · FM UC 104.5 · Tricontinental Checked
Check-in guide
- 📍
- La Alcabala sector, Petare parish, Sucre municipality, Miranda State, in Caracas. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 Checked
- 🚗
- Look up from the highway below: Diario VEA names the Gran Cacique Guaicaipuro highway, FM UC the Caracas–Oriente highway. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 Reported
- 🏠
- The portrait is painted on people’s homes. View it from public roads and respect residents’ privacy.
Sightings
- 202516 Oct
AP photo · Ariana Cubillos
- 202518 Oct
FM UC: being finished
- 202521 Oct
Diario VEA report
- 202528 Dec
Tricontinental photo
The green stamp is the date in AP’s photo caption; amber stamps are publication dates. The status stamp follows Diario VEA’s report of 21 October 2025, which describes the mural on the houses. The Tricontinental photograph was published in December 2025 but carries no capture date, so it does not move the stamp.
On the record
How it works
“La pintura va tomando forma a medida que el espectador se desplaza.”
“The painting takes shape as the viewer moves.”
An unusual commission
“me contactaron vía Instagram para un proyecto no convencional”
“they contacted me via Instagram for an unconventional project”, Alejandro Molina (Hamk Trazos) told the paper.
The news photograph
“The facade of houses are emblazoned with an image of physician José Gregorio Hernandez”
From Ariana Cubillos’s AP caption, Petare, Caracas.
The facts
- Subject
- José Gregorio Hernández, the physician called the “doctor of the poor”. AP via BTA · Diario VEA Checked
- Artist
- Alejandro Molina, known as Hamk Trazos (@hamktrazos), from Caracas. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 · Tricontinental Checked
- Location
- La Alcabala, Petare, Sucre municipality, Miranda, Venezuela. Diario VEA · FM UC 104.5 · AP via BTA Checked
- Date
- October 2025, made for the canonization. FM UC 104.5 · Diario VEA Checked
- Scale
- About 25 to 30 houses. Diario VEA Reported No measurements were published.
- Duration
- Roughly 16 to 17 days. Diario VEA Reported
- Commissioner
- Not named in the reports we read; the artist says he was approached via Instagram. Diario VEA Unconfirmed
- Status
- Seen October 2025. Diario VEA · AP via BTA Checked
- Photograph
- Credited to Daniel de Jongh in Street Art Utopia’s archive; we could not confirm the photographer or the capture date independently. SAU archive post Unconfirmed
Related
- Odd Art and Architecture (12 Photos): the SAU collection that includes this portrait.
- Wish We Had Art Like This Everywhere (8 Photos): where this photograph first appeared on SAU.
All sources (5)
Local and national press
- Diario VEA: Rostro de San José Gregorio Hernández en Petare, Yonaski Moreno, 21 October 2025. Artist’s name, sector, houses, days of work, interview.
- FM UC 104.5 (Universidad de Carabobo): Petare se viste de fe, Azael Bernal, 18 October 2025. @hamktrazos, La Alcabala, highway view, finishing for the canonization.
Photographs
- BTA gallery “Venezuela Saint”: AP photo by Ariana Cubillos, 16 October 2025. Houses in Petare bearing Hernández’s image; the artist is not named.
- Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, art bulletin on José Gregorio Hernández, 28 December 2025. Caption credits the mural to @hamktrazos, 2025; photograph by Daniel Hernández García. No place is named, but the photograph shows the same houses as our hero image.
Artist
- Hamk Trazos on Instagram. The artist’s account, linked for reference; we could not open individual posts.
Artwork File · Last checked 14 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files