Argentine artist reflects Parana River drought in giant murals

SAN NICOLAS DE LOS ARROYOS, Argentina: In the Argentine city of San Nicolas de los Arroyos, which hugs the banks of the Parana River, two huge murals reflect local worries about a growing environmental issue for the region - the declining levels of the waterway.

The two 40-meter-high (130-ft) paintings on the sides of buildings in the city center were spurred by the artist's desire to stir debate over the river's decline. Hit by a lack of rainfall upriver in Brazil, this year the Parana reached its lowest level in almost 80 years.

One mural shows a boy extracting a native flower from the river, while the other depicts a girl whose image is reflected in the water.