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Grolou was one of more than 30 artists taking part in the sixth Street Arte BA event in the barrio of Once over the weekend. Grolou and Blu Shei Wei were given charge of painting an enormous section of the facade of an old oxygen factory in a run down part of the neighbourhood. The French street artist told us about his latest designs including a giant yellow skull and a growling cat.
The city of Buenos Aires has rightly gained a reputation as one of the street art capitals of the world but it seems not just for the quality of its graffiti but also the quantity. It’s against the law to spray graffiti on public buildings and monuments but that hasn’t stopped one offender from defacing the city’s oldest national monument, la Pirámide de Mayo.
Graffiti on the Pirámide de Mayo
The famous obelisk in the middle of Plaza de Mayo was inaugurated on the May 25th, 1811 to commemorate the first anniversary of the May Revolution. It’s one of BA’s most important landmarks and has also been described as representing the city par excellence similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Colosseum in Rome. It’s the equivalent of spraying Nelson’s Column in London with graffiti. Not something you’d get away with in most cities!
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| The pyramid in front of the Casa Rosada |
Just a few weeks shy of the 201st anniversary of the historic date 25 de Mayo, the plasterwork of the monument was sprayed with the message: “194 pibas presente”, referring to the 194 young revellers who died in the Cromañón nightclub tragedy on 30 December 2004 after a pyrotechnic flare went off and set the roof of the building on fire.
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| Mock 200 pesos note saying “Which bicentenary?” |
Even more graffiti appeared on the streets exactly a year ago coinciding with the bicentenary. There were lavish events to mark the anniversary with the reopening of Teatro Colon and festivities in Plaza de Mayo and Avenida 9 de Julio. Plenty of stencils were painted around Buenos Aires at the time mocking the celebrations and the state of the nation.
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| Stencil featuring a cartonero dragging a sack of cardboard |
As part of the 25 de Mayo festivities, a ceremony was held this morning in Plaza de Mayo with the singing of the national anthem and raising of the Argentine flag and more events are planned this evening.
Polish street artist Yola has travelled to Buenos Aires to recreate a 19th century painting that forms the centrepiece of a spectacular collaboration with artists Jaz (Argentina), Other (Canada) and Corona (France).
Some of Latin America’s best know street artists have breathed new life into a disused former oxygen tank factory in one of Buenos Aires’ roughest neighbourhoods.
