Blogs in Latin America: Graffiti

Most of us might assume that we know quite a bit about Mexico and South America because it's on the same continent as the U.S., but I'm shocked at how much I don't know about these Latin countries.

Without getting into political depth and overall well being of these countries, something else caught my attention while scrolling through the blogs: Graffiti and Urban Art (voices from Latin America). It's not uncommon to hear a vast majority of people call graffiti vandalism. And though most of it CAN be, because that is what it has turned into, not all of it is. Graffiti started roughly about three decades ago in the United States and was/is considered one of the four elements of Hip Hop. Like all of the elements of hip hop, graffiti was founded on expression. It could be considered tasteful art, and artwork indeed. Today it can be found in almost every inner city in every country. I personally feel it has been abused. No longer is it an expression through art, but gangs have taken a liking to it and tag their names everywhere claiming their territory, it's simply writing on private and public property, leaving neighborhoods and communities looking distasteful.

According to one blog, the countries in Latin America however, are using walls to "represent the voice of the community, marginal groups, and young people that strive to be heard...," "Some of Latin America street art is distinct from what is created by the hip-hop movement, focusing on political messages and stories of struggle that speak directly to the viewer." It's not all about street credibility, but the pieces of these Latinos display messages that only make sense the community. The intricate letters and code numbers represent certain places and names that only the community can identify with. One artist describes that there is a certain power of being in the streets (artwork), and that one must handle it with responsibility and do what is best for the community. This means, "refraining from painting egocentrically and paint only what on wants and what only one can understand. The must be strong willed to represent what the community wants to see and needs to know."

Some of these pieces are beautiful, they are actual masterpieces. It would be nice to see this kind of graffiti come back to the states instead of rival gangs in competition seeing who can tag up the most places with their name.