A teen-ager with baggy jeans and an oversized parka stood silently staring at the wall -- a 35-foot mural emblazoned with the face of a favorite neighborhood figure who had died just days before.

As a train rumbled along a rusty track over his head, the young man looked down at the makeshift memorial on the sidewalk below the mural: dozens of candles, flowers, balloons and handwritten notes fringed by rows of beer and liquor bottles.

He began to walk away, but before fading into the shadows of the blighted South Bronx neighborhood, took a few steps solemnly toward the wall. He made the sign of a cross over his shoulders, then touched two fingers to his lips and pressed them against the wall. "Rest in peace, bro," he said under his breath.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of mourners have passed by the wall along Westchester Boulevard in Morrisania. They came in part to admire the massive mural featuring a neighborhood native's face, a Puerto Rican flag and a city skyline. But mostly they came to share a moment of mourning for their friend, Christopher Rios. Better known as the famous 700-pound rap singer, "Big Pun," Rios died Feb. 7, 2000, of a heart attack caused by obesity.

"This is how hip-hoppers show their respect," says Sonia Rodriguez, a 38-year-old resident who brought a cardboard camera to capture the moment.

More permanent than a funeral service and more accessible than a grave, these graffiti murals line the city's neighborhoods and serve as urban memorials. Unlike the case of Big Pun, most wall murals remember local celebrities - such as a slain teen-ager known for his jump shot perfected on a nearby playground or a bodega owner who extended credit to neighbors in need. The colorful tributes offer catharsis and closure for the friends and families of the deceased in neighborhoods that are home to mostly blacks and Latinos.