Graffiti Mundo - Street Art Tours of Buenos Aires

Recently I had the pleasure of tagging along on the recently launched Graffiti Mundo tour of Buenos Aires, focusing on street art and graffiti here in Buenos Aires. The tour is run by two lovely Brits, Marina [above] and Jo who have dedicated themselves to promoting knowledge and appreciation of the local scene here. Since I've frequently blogged street art here, it was a wonderful chance to gain background knowledge on the artists involved. The tour, which focuses on Colegiales, a center of street art, doesn't just visit important murals but also includes a visit to one of the artist's workshops as well as gallery visits. They're currently running tours on Wednesdays and Fridays. They can also arrange private tours. Check out their website for more info.

Pintada Politica - Faculdad de Ingenieria

Pintada Politica [political graffiti] covering the lower walls of the massive Faculdad de Ingenieria on Paseo Colon in San Telmo. As election season is gearing up the city is full of freshly painted signs like this one.

Reserva Ecologica - Escombros

The Reserva Ecologica is landfill created in the 1970s. The fill was wreckage from buildings demolished by freeway construction. Along the shore, instead of stones and sand, the waterline is full of bricks rounded and worn down by the water.

Reserva Ecologica - Burn Zone

Fires are not uncommong in Buenos Aires' Reserva Ecologica, a large nature park just to the south/east of downtown. Last weekend I came across a large burn section that is recovering. I was attracted to the brillian greens of the new shoots contrasted against the still black soil.

Edificio Alas

Rising 42 stories above downtown Buenos Aires, Edificio Alas was the country's tallest building from its completion in 1950 until 1996.

Lobby in Belgrano

Lobbies have this theatrical falseness that I find appealing and funny.

Consultorio

It's a stereotype that a lot of people in Buenos Aires see therapists but just anectodally polling my Argentine friends it does seem that a lot of them see therapists. Here's the consultorio of a friend of mine who is a psychologist. I like the detail of the photo on the wall of Freud and his daughter.

92 Renault for Sale

The number's right there if you're interested.

House in Nuñez

A nicely renovated house in Nuñez. Not everyone makes ugly Chalets.

Casita Ho

Using payphones to advertise hookers is a worldwide phenomenon. A photo I took of a payphone in downtown Sao Paulo is even used in Wikipedia's article on prostitution. The above photo says "casita hot" not 'ho' altho I thought it was amusing given the context.

Puma sale

The Puma store on Cabildo in Belgrano is having a sale, in case it wasn't obvious.

Pintada River Plate

Most pintadas are for politicians. This one on Libertador is for the current elections for the board of the River Plate soccer team.

Fruterias - Imprenta

It's been awhile since I've posted any photos of fruterias. Both of these are in La Imprenta, this tony section of Belgrano next to Las Cañitas. I remember my friend Stephen commenting on the lack of exotic fruits and it's true. There's nothing an American wouldn't find unfamiliar at these stores. What I like about these places are their simplicity and their small scale. Their quality too.

The Zipper Store

In Once there's a store for everything. This store only sold zippers. I loved the creativity and fashion sense of their mannequins.

The Ideal Chalet

It's been awhile since I've posted any chalets. I'm beginning to get a sense of the ideal form. It has to be recessed a bit from the street. That's the key ingredient. Then it has to be a duplex with two single driveways and two entrances and finally it needs the gabled windows on top.

Graffit in Small Park

There's this small park right at the end of Avenida Santa Fe before it goes under the viaduct and turns into Cabildo. It's in the vacant lot and one whole side is totally painted with these interesting graffiti murals.

Plaza Bolivia

The recently restored Plaza Bolivia on Libertador and Olleros.

Fileteado on Line 60

The filete on line 60 is subtle but elegant. I shot this at the end of the ex Line 38 in Nunez. It helps if the buses aren't going anywhere.

Taxi Protest

Taxis today protested the city government's plan to increase the number of bus lanes. The lined up along Pueyrredon and Corriented, blocking traffic in the recently added bus lanes heading north. Here's the article on Clarin with more background.

I remember last year there was a taxi protest for higher fares that shutdown the microcenter. I was transfixed by the images on TV of the streets filled with a swarm of identical taxis, like yellow jackets having invaded the city. The protest today was considerably smaller and I left a little disappointed. FYI, I'm all in favor of more efficient bus transit.

Palo Borracho and Brick House

I like Palo Borrachos when their trunks are green and spiky. I also liked the contrast of the green against the red brick.

House in Nuñez

I just liked the curved stairway.

Mural on Blanco Encalada

I liked the mix of graffiti and political murals on this abandoned house on the corner of Blanco Encalada and 3 de Febrero in Belgrano. I took the photo at night, using a custom white balance to correct the very orange street lamp. I don't think street lamps emit a normal distribution of light so correcting for them can result in some very strange colors. I kind of like the effect, though.

Volante

There were a bunch of these scattered on the street after leaving the book fair. The union is trying to get a raise of 300 pesos per month. I believe this practice of dumping paper en masse is called a papelazo, altho please correct me if I'm wrong.

Green Fiat 600

A really gorgeous green Fiat 600. In the back window there it says "No Se Vende". I guess the owner gets asked a lot.


Great license plate number. I wonder if it's a coincident.


But the best detail of all is that they manage to fit a baby seat in the back seat of this tiny car.

Graffiti in Palermo Hollywood

A gorgeous old house on Angel Carranza with some interesting graffit murals. If you know the names of the artists, please leave a comment.

Pintada Politica vs. Arte Callejera

The train viaduct at Libertador and Dorrego is a popular spot for both street muralists and political graffiti. They don't always respect eachother's spaces as you can see from this photo.