The world’s street art capital?

At the end of last week, the Spanish Cultural Centre welcomed artists from all over Latin America to come and paint the interior of its building in the crumbling splendour of the San Telmo neighbourhood. But these weren’t renowned sculptors or watercolourists. In fact they weren’t artists you’d normally find exhibiting in a gallery. For the 30 invited graffiti artists in question, their canvas is normally the street.

The artists who came to spray the cultural centre were from all over the region, from Brazil, Colombia and Chile to Buenos Aires’ very own Bs. As. Stencil and Rundontwalk crews. The event is a good indication of how far graffiti has come in Argentina’s capital – now hosting international get-togethers – and how quickly the art has been incorporated into mainstream culture.

What attracts artists from all over the world is the laissez-faire attitude to painting in public places. Marina Charles, a Briton who moved to Buenos Aires and set up her own graffiti street tour, explains. “Buenos Aires has a long history with writing on walls,” she says. “It’s an essential form of political commentary – politicians as well as political protesters share the public space of the city to communicate with people and share their views. Graffiti started appearing in the city over 100 years ago and is now an accepted part of the landscape.”

 Police have got more important issues to deal with than clamping down on street artists, and locals generally see graffiti as a means of communicating. On a simpler level, graffiti is a way of turning the urban chaos of the city into an aesthetically more beautiful place.

The city’s street art is roughly divided into two distinct types of art. The microcentro – long a hotbed of political dissent and protest – is where the slogans and messages appear scrawled on the walls around Congreso, the government headquarters. Occasionally a stencil will voice concerns over working class rights or question President Cristina Kirchner’s leftwing credentials.

On the other hand, the northern suburbs of Palermo, Colegiales and Villa Crespo have been overtaken by middle class artists. “I started in late 2002 [just after the economic crisis],” says Fede Manuchin, one of the scene’s most important stencilers. “That summer was interesting as new people kept on doing stuff on the streets. It was a good time and luckily the people of Buenos Aires are still quite tolerant on having things painted to their walls. After this stencil craze, all different types of what now is called ‘street art’ started appearing, so that formed the street art movement you can see today.”

Manuchin is an artist clearly influenced by the UK’s Banksy who uses traditional spray cans to paint. Yet within the new street art movement, paintbrushes and conventional paints are being used on walls, something some of the original artists from the early 90s aren’t happy about.

What’s clear is that there’s a fascinating mix of different styles and imagery covering empty wall spaces, abandoned buildings, bus depots, train carriages and even bins all over the capital. Gaulicho, a solitary artist, is known for painting in bright oranges and reds, heavily influenced by 1970s San Francisco; Jaz uses cheap aerosols because they create a diluted effect similar to watercolours; and Nema is interested in age and society, often painting elderly figures.

The street tour set up by Charles, graffitimundo, is proving successful. It’s a chance to see another side of the capital beyond the traditional ‘Paris of South America’ cliché promoted by the mainstream media. “People go away feeling really inspired by what they’ve seen,” Charles explains. “Such is the energy and prolificness of the Buenos Aires scene. There is something really raw and exciting going on here, and people pick up on that.”