Hola, Fam! I’m switching things up a bit para este mez. In lieu of sharing about a particular travel destination that I’ve enjoyed, I wanna focus on the tremendous street art that I’ve seen while wandering through las calles of new places. The thing that has made cities/countries come ALIVE for me, time and time again.
I’ve created a “Remarkable Street Art” gallery for you, loves.
If you’ve followed me for a while, ya tu sabes que I’ve already shared about some street art that’s inspired me on my journeys. En mi primero post about the magic of the artform I said, “Street art brings me an immense amount of joy. Porque itβs beautiful y porque it pops with color, yes. Alladat. But mostly because it is a representation of the community that I’m are traveling through!“
Mi gente, I stand by cada palabra.
Honestly, I still feel the exact same way today. Este tipo de arte es tan interesante, I think, because it represents the city and it’s people. And also because the art signifies something different to every single individual who encounters it. For the residents of the local neighborhood, a mural puede representar its community history, it might represent a important event, or even the opposite… it could be hated amongst the people who have to gaze upon it cada dia. It HAS been known to happen, fam. Especialmente if it was commissioned against the will of the people, for instance…
BUT to the passerby, to the tourist, and to the traveler ese mismo mural could be a revelation. A brilliant and inspiring motivator. Y tambien, es posible que the art itself might begin to tell an entirely different story than the one it was made to originally convey. It’s absolutely possible, if not totally probable!
That’s the beauty of art that is free for everyone to see… its open to interpretation.
Es bello, verdad? What a remarkable thing that a piece of art can hit people differently depending on who they are, where they come from, and what they’re going through! Y es por eso que me gusta tanto!
Please, allow me to tell you about some of the incredible installations that I’ve encountered along my travels. Te prometo que I’ll do my best to share as much as I can about what the artist’s intention was for the pieces I showcase, pero tambien te voy a decir why they impacted me as a traveler! My hope es que they inspire you too!
You ready for all of the beautiful visuals? Vamonos!
1. “Tu Dolor Es Nuestro Dolor”, Austin, TX
First up is this belleza that I encountered whilst wandering through downtown Austin! I mean, isn’t she just captivating? She is the hand-drawn creation of illustrator and muralist Christin Apodaca of El Paso, TX. Impressive, no? Esta foto doesn’t even do her justice, tbh!
Christin, as an artist, has been open about the way en como la naturaleza y la cultura of the people around her inspire her art. She weaves native plantas and the human existence into surreal, dream-like compositions that boldly speak to the American Southwest experience. A mi, en particular, me gusta how she uses cross hatching, fine line work, and negative space to really draw in the eye of the beholder.
She’s making a bold artistic statement AND representing her community.
This particular mural, on the side of the Mexic-Arte Museum, highlights the Latinos lost to Covid 19 in Texas. Es un bello memorial. It features a crying woman wearing traditional Catrina makeup, surrounded by marigoldsβla flor associated with the Day of the Dead holidayβskulls, y una monarch butterfly. Monarch butterflies are believed to hold the spirits of the departed, so they are such an appropriate touch in this artistic tribute to those who passed.
This mural me toco el corazon, because its representative of a community (my community) that is disproportionally affected by the virus. Los Latinos, and people of color in general, die at much higher rates than the rest of America, so this painting made me feel like they were SEEN; not forgotten. It also showcased how much more help that community needs in fighting against the effects of the pandemic.
We are a beautiful people with a rich culture.
Not only do we deserve to LIVE healthy and full lives, but we also deserve to be honored and remembered when we pass. Eso fue lo que me inspiro! This mural is remarkable in that it is a call to action and a tribute at the same time! Just beautiful.
- Do you believe that art has the power to tug at your heartstrings AND call you into action?
2. Indigenous Rider Street Art, Utah
Yo no conozco the actually name of this piece of art. I can’t speak to its actual intention and I can’t tell you the artist who created it; esa es la mera verdad.
I was driving down the road in a random area of rural Utah when I spotted this mural pintado a lado de an old abandoned building. It was so intriguing to me, that I stopped to snap a picture. Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing it’s original purpose or intention.
But it did tell me one thing very clearly… I was standing on native land.
Home to the Indigenous tribes of the Ute, Dine’ (or Navajo), Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone peoples.
So, lets be real, this particular bit of street art might have been created by a Native person… or puede ser que fue pintado as some sketchy ass way to capitalize on Native culture for tourist dollars. I’m not sure, to be honest. Ultimately, though, no tiene importancia. The importance of the piece is that it coerced me into stopping to appreciate whose land I was exploring.
I decided to use the universe’s nudge as a spark to learn more about the people who lived in the area… to focus on la gente who called this land “home” first; the very people whose stories are so often forgotten and erased.
La arte took me deeper. It made me more aware of the beauty of the Indigenous cultures of Utah.
That’s what art is supposed to do, I think. Te toca y te IMPACTA. Street art does this better than anything else, it forces you to reckon with the reality of where you are and the people who live there. In other word, it’s place specific; totally tied to it’s location and it’s history.
The least that I could do while looking at this native man riding into the sunset was tomar un poquito de tiempo para investigar, so that’s exactly what I did!
The art was there, I believe, to inspire me to dig deeper and look more intentionally. To let the knowledge of the Native community (the subject of this piece) wash over me. Y todo eso, so that when I walked away, I’d have better understanding of what Utah was really all about.
So that I would know who to honor them as I passed through their lands.
- Do you ever stop to wonder about the land that you’re traveling through and the indigenous of that area?
3. “The Spirit of East Harlem”, El Barrio, New York City
Allow me, amigos, to set the stage for our next work of art….
After the first World War, el area de East Harlem welcomed a new vibrant Latino community (comprised in large part by Puerto Ricans) who brought with them a beautiful array of culture, food, music, and art. Vineron y se quedaron… the rest is “history”; East Harlem became “El Barrio”.
Yo vi este mural a few years back when I was walking through that famous community con mi prima. I’d never spent a lot of time ahi y solamente heard about it’s vibrant culture from articles and movies. From the jump, this 4 story tall street mural drew my eye in… I mean, por supuesto it did. It’s huge and its beautiful.
But that’s only half of it…
“The Spirit of East Harlem” , completed in 1978 by Hank Prussing (sponsored by Hope community), is a window into life in East Harlem. Periodt. Back in the day, a reverend from a nearby church suggested that Hank paint a mural and that inspired businesses de la comunidad to come through with paint and scaffolding and financial support. Los vecinos wanted to celebrate their neighborhood with art, y Prussing honored them by illustrating what he saw all around him… la gente themselves.
If you look closely, el mural no es nada mas que a bunch of Puerto Rican and multicultural Barrio residents living their normal ass lives. That it, that’s the subject.
It’s extraordinary because its ordinary. Me entiendes? It’s representation… plain y simple. It’s something akin to the representation that “In The Heights” gave to the people of Washington Heights. It matters. The people see themselves up on that building every day doing normal things like: jugando dominoes, loving on their familias, teaching, singing, hanging out, cleaning… etc. I just love how it promotes community pride!
And to the tourists and the passerbys, the mural sends a very clear message: THIS is who lives here! THIS is what the Barrio is!
Better recognize!
- Do you think it’s important for a community to have a say in it’s street art?
4. “Magic” Sticker Bomb, SoCo
The only magic I still believe in is love.
Everything else fails, love never does.
Es verdad para mi, this statement. It rings 1000 percent true to my ears. In fact, my feels got a direct hit the moment I laid eyes on this piece of sticker art.
Now, yo no soy religiosa ni spiritual, but listen… yo SI tengo fe en el amor. Seeing this sticker on a lamp post en el medio de the SoCo area of Austin both challenged and inspired me. It actually made me stop in my tracks. I was walking with the family and got so far behind them that they got worried and had to call to check up on me. La cosa es, I couldn’t move. The sticker bomb had rendered me speechless and immobile. It hit a nerve; me toco en una manera incredible.
You see, I believe that when things are motivated by true, unadulterated, selfless love for another person, for other people and even for one’s own self… that’s when real magic happens. Es en ESE momento that lives change. That’s then when actual miracles occur.
When love shines through, it’s like a Care Bear stare— it can overcome any evil, any obstacle.
I sincerely believe that. Love drives out hate. Love drives out fear. It illuminates darkness. It can empower (both YOU and other people). Its that fucking powerful.
Its incredibly moving to imagine que every single day people are walking by with this message in their faces. Es posible que thousands are encouraged by this piece of art regularly. Locals, tourists, homeless, those struggling, the lonely, the angry, the bigoted, the confused etc. I mean, wow. *cue violin* π
It’s like making the world a better place, one sticker bomb at a time.
- Do you believe that love can be magical?
5. Fishermen, Philipsburg, Saint Maarten
A mi me encanta when street art tells the history of the place I’m visiting.
That’s what happened to me when I stepped off the cruise ship onto Philipsburg, St. Maarten unos aΓ±os antes. Obviously right near the cruise port, its insanity! Imaginate, touristy trinkets, stalls and stalls of art designed to cater to travelers’ tastes, and goods sold at way too high a price. Nada parece real. Nothing feels authentic and everything screams: “gimmick”.
But as you begin to explore the city, you are confronted with images that hit you in an entirely different way.
Take this mural, for instance. Totally different vibe!
Now, tengo que admitir que I’m not sure why this piece of art was painted and I can’t confirm who created it (I searched with no luck), pero si te puedo decir that it was the first time after stepping foot on the Caribbean island that I felt like I was looking at something real.
Real islanders, doing the simple thing that helped sustain them for hundreds of years: fishing.
No frills. No gimmick. Just real life!
And did I mention, these weren’t just any people painted in town square for all to see. They were BLACK people. Descendants of slaves and probably of the native Arawak and Carib peoples too. La gente who have survived deportation, enslavement, colonization, forced assimilation…. and STILL have beautiful stories to tell. Son historias de resilience, community, and beauty that NEED to keep being told. Y estan usando la arte para eso mismo!
I love that the mural is rustic, worn; It’s had to withstand quite a lot. Thankfully the art remains to showcase the perseverance of the people and their island. Que lindo verdad? It made me feel… well, it made me take a second look, past the touristy gimmicks to the REAL history of the island. It lead me to it’s people. Which, I think was the point all along.
Art, man! Works every time!
- Tell me about a time that a piece of street art made you google the community it resided in!
6. German-inspired Storybook Touches,
Helen, GA
Sometimes a girl just wants to believe in fairytales. Y Que? π
Dime una cosa, doesn’t this look like a scroll from a Disney movie? Come on! Tu sabes que si! It looks like some European street art that was immortalized in Rapunzel or Sleeping Beauty or something. It’s totally whimsical, evocative of another time and place. Except, adivinan que? I found this splendid little artwork on the side of a random wall in back-country Georgia! YUP! In a little town called Helen.
So, long story short, el pueblo de Helen, GA is a small town (2 square miles in total) that was struggling to the point of desolation… until in the 60’s a group of people decided to zhuzh it up un poquito by giving it a schtick. Crearon an Alpine-themed mountain town in the middle of Georgia and made it una destinaciΓ³n para touristas.
Clever, right?
The founders enlisted several artists to make artwork for the town to give it a storybook appeal… hence all the Snow White feels. π Josef Mahler (one such artist), was a graphic designer and commercial artist that settled in the area because it reminded him and his wife of their Bavarian homeland. It was he who painted este pedazo de arte en particular. Isn’t it lovely?
Over the years, Mahler’s art has become familiar around Helen and beloved by locals and tourists alike. You’ll find traces of him en todas partes of the town’s landscape. What’s great is that the installations add a fun Bavarian architectural touch to buildings around the itty bitty town (decorative plaques, artistic shutters, wood-railed balconies, ornate flower boxes, and gingerbread trim). Que te dije? Whimsical.
I think la razon de porque it “hits”, is just that people WANT to believe in fairy tales sometimes. They want to transported to places where “happily ever afters” are a given. People want to be distracted by beautiful things every now and again. Y eso esta bien.
Street art can be for education, representation *AND* for pleasure too.
Least, I think so. That’s why I love it so much!
- Tell me about a place that you visited that felt like something out of a story book.
7. Hummingbird Eyes Street Art, Tampa Heights
Tampa freelance artist, muralist, and grafitti artist, Eric Hornby is super duper well known in the greater Tampa area. He has painted murales en todas partes de la cuidad, depicting all sorts of subjects… ranging from the musical Hamilton to the Super Bowl champs, The Tampa Bay Bucs.
He’s no slouch and he stays busy. La razon es porque, to put it plainly, he’s really freaking talented. If you look him up on Instagram, you can see for yourself! His tag is @artist_esh
But what about this piece, Joana?
Pues, que te digo? I particularly love this piece because, well, its vibrant… as you can plainly see. But that’s not it, not fully. Truthfully, what I love most about este pedazo de arte es the subject matter. This is a beautiful Black woman we see here, unabashedly beckoning to the passerby’s of Tampa Heights (a neighborhood known for its impeccable graffiti art).
Su mirada is what stopped me in my tracks, if I’m honest. She practically demanded a second look from me. The boldness of her stare, her fixed gaze, her unapologetic way of just being 100% who she is. She reeled me in y me inspirΓ³!
Like, DAMN! I wanna be just like her!
Hornsby seems to love depicting strong women of color in his art; from lo que veo, “Black girl magic” is one of his favorite themes. HERE FOR IT! Gimme more proud melanated women! Dame mas de eso on ALL the city walls! I mean, Black women are often undervalued, underappreciated, and under served. Why not showcase their beauty para que el mundo lo vea?
I love it when the marginalized and the oppressed are represented, seen, and honored.
Let’s do more of that! Why not give visual shout outs to the real MVPs of our urban communities? Let’s illustrate the faces that so often are not the subject matter of fine art! Por que no? THAT’s the charm of street art, yo creo… and it’s call. To represent and illuminate the community around it!
- If graffiti art went up in YOUR neighborhood, who would you want it to lift up? What part of you community deserves a shoutout?
8. “Write Your Next Chapter”, Austin, TX
Sticker bombing is a legitimate form of street art. Did you know?
I love it porque itβs collective. Itβs the creation of art by a multitude of individuals, cada uno con their own message and idea to convey. The culmination of all those thoughts and intentions in one singular place es impactante. Now, local residents might not love stickers plastered all over their clean street signs, but to the traveler… the chaos of words and pictures can reveal powerful truths.
Eso es lo que me paso a mi con este sticker bomb. I saw a truth that struck me and left me empowered.
βWrite your next chapterβ βπ½
Your story is in your hands! Tu tienes el poder to change it. You have the power to make it go however you want. It all comes down to choices and mindset. Que impressionante! I was floored by that message. It’s what I needed to hear en ese momento. Maybe you do too?
Decide today to be the hero of your story. Or to write a new happier chapter. O possiblemente, to get rid of a toxic villain. YOU HAVE THE PEN! Tu lo puedes hacer; it’s in your power, coΓ±o!
Donβt let anyone convince you that your story is already written or that itβs a inevitable tragedy…. NAH. It can absolutely change, friend.
YOU can always “write” something better for yourself! And so can I!
Art inspires. And this sticker me inspirΓ³ a mi. So… can’t nobody tell me that sticker bombing doesn’t have it’s place! It’s beautiful and moving AF.
βͺοΈIf your next chapter could be any genre, which would it be for you?
9. “Desert Queen”, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Hay momentos en que street art touches your soul and/or challenges preconceived notions about humanity.
This installation in Santa Fe entitled “Desert Queen”by “Made of Hagop” does just that.
Upon first glance, mi honesta reaciΓ³n fue shock. This is not your typical street art mural, even though the theme of the desert does fit its location; even though it felt like it fit the vibe of the city. It’s still different. It’s odd. Te provoca. Folks, its for THAT reason, que es especial. Art should push you a little, force you out of your comfort zone, entice you into pensamientos that you aren’t used to having swirl around your brain.
Street art should challenge the onlooker.
Hagop Belian (the artist of this piece) is a self-taught mixed media collage artist. The sources of his work come from books and materials dated from the early 1500βs to 1800βs and are retrieved from public domains and libraries from around the world. Neat, verdad? He takes “old” things y lo usa to create “new” ways of imagining este mundo.
MY favorite part is that he uses his artistry to challenge societyβs preconceived notions regarding race, gender, and culture. Por eso mismo, they are important. His totems represent the merging of a human being con su animal spiritual and they are intended to bring healing and inspirational energy to the spaces that they adorn.
Now, it may not work that way for you, or the locals, or even the tourists… but you gotta admit one thing, it’s highly likely that every single person that passes by this mural stops and looks. Y por un solo momento, they are probably enticed to reckon with the “different” that they see. It gives them something new to think about.
Remarkable street art does just that.
- Have you ever passed by street art that provoked or challenged you in a way that you didn’t expect?
10. “Til Death Do Us Part”, Austin, TX
Austin is filled, FILLED with beautiful street art. There are huge colorful murals, simple messages of self care, and gritty sticker bombing art everywhere you look. I truly love it all. Es por esa razon that you’ve seen so much of Austin en etsa lista. π They don’t play when to comes to artistic expression in that town, for reals!
But* I do have a favorite. Well, favorites. All by the same artist.
His name is Federico Archuleta or @el_federico on Instagram; I’ve talked to you guys about him before cuando te dije about the mural he painted of La Virgencita (my fave). This installation que ves aqui, though, is my other favorite. Currently the backdrop on my photo… I’m deadass. π
It’s tucked into a nook, painted on a little cove in the back alley of a building, but DAMN does it catch the eye… all the way from the street. The intricate stencil artwork totally pulls you in. Es increible, downright masterful IMHO. El Federico uses bold color in a way to makes you feel things.
For me, it was pride. I felt tanto orgullo when I rolled upon this piece. Latinx pride flowed out of me en una manera tan fuerte, that I almost got teary. The images and symbols used in his art are uniquely Latin, and I gotta say that it was a beautiful surprise to see, in a state that is so often characterized by its racism against immigrants.
To see unapologetic Latinidad on display like that… pues… it made my heart glow.
It was like seeing a cousin or and old friend in a strange new city. Esa misma sensaciΓ³n de familiar joy! A reminder that we aren’t alone, we aren’t invisible either– WE OUT CHERE! And Latinidad is friggin beautiful, no matter what the haters say!
Not only that, but “Til Death Do Us Part”… how romantic, right? It’s giving me warm and fuzzy “Book of Life” vibes. I am all about for that kind of sweet tenderness. Hasta la muerte y beyond… que orgullo!
- Do you have a favorite street artist?
11. “Start Here”, Atlanta, GA
Remarkable no siempre tiene que significar “flashy”. Sometimes the simplest things hit the hardest.
I came across this striking depiction of a girl while strolling along the Atlanta Beltline. Es un paseo de caminar that runs through a popular part of ATL, that just so happens to contain large areas of graffiti art, which are open to anyone who wants to add their own creations. Solo necessitan un can of spray paint. What’s crazy, es que even in the midst of a very colorful and chaotic graffitied underpass, I spotted her.
Someone very wise painted this girl with a kick ass jacket that states: “start here”. That’s it. Two words and a heart symbol. No podemos ver su cara, but the words on her jacket speak volumes!
So, fun fact time! One of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail, has this quote in it que me encanta because it drops a truth bomb. And it ties into this piece, so allow me to share…
Kathleen Kelly (the protagonist) says: “What’s so wrong with being personal, anyway? Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”
She’s right fam. And so is this artwork.
Lead with your heart. Start there.
This piece of art is reasoning with every single person that walks by it: empieza con tu corazon and go from there! Don’t waste away doing something you don’t love. Don’t go through the motions. Take steps forward that lead from your passions, your ideals, your convictions. If you begin there, then no matter what, estas en el camino correcto.
All of that from a piece of graffiti art! Now you know why I love it so much!
It’s like an inspirational surprise just waiting to be found.
I only wish the artists who create such magic could KNOW como nos toca, I wish they knew their impact!
- If you could graffiti 2 words for the world to see, what would they be?
12. Navajo Weaver, Shiprock, New Mexico
βAs I Walk In Beautyβ
As I walk, as I walk
The universe is walking with me.
In Beauty it walks before me.
In beauty it walks behind me.
In beauty it walks below me.
In beauty it walks above me.
Beauty is on every side.
As I walk, I walk with beauty.β’Traditional Navajo Prayer
ββββββββββββββββ-
A few months back, tuve la oportunidad to spend some time in the driving through the lands of the Navajo Nation. It was illuminating and quite life-changing to witness first hand both the struggle of what the indigenous of this country must go through everyday y tambien the resilience and BEAUTY of their history, their culture, and their heritage.
Algo que me gustΓ³ about driving through Navajo Nation were the bursts of street art that we would discover along the road… on old abandoned buildings, on the side of businesses, y hasta ensima de concrete on the ground. Imagine bursts of vibrant colorful stories against the backdrop of the red desert. Just eye catching. Mesmerizingβ¦
More than the colors though, itβs the message behind the art.
Let’s face it, Indigenous voices aren’t often amplified in this country. Son silenciadas much of the time, so art like this that depicts real native communities speaks loudly; it gives them a voice. Antes, I said that sometimes street art is commissioned without the consent of the locals, but this? This is not that. Este arte is intentional, its there because the locals are trying to say something. Trying to make sure they are seen…heard… respected.
Art has been used since itβs creation as a form of expression and this mural is no different. Dice: aqui estamos. Take note!
βWe walk with beauty. Who we are is beautifulβ¦.β
13. Austin Wildflower Wall, Austin, TX
You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel freeRun away, find you a lover
Go away somewhere all bright and new
I have seen no other
Who compares with youβ
Thats it. No tengo mucho que decir. The song lyrics on this street mural speak for themselves friends.
You are a by-God wildflower!
No one is like you. You are special. Not in a clichΓ© way… in a very real way! Own that shit!
Who doesn’t need to see a piece of street art that reminds them of their own special brand of greatness? I KNOW! We all can benefit from it. Estoy tan agradecida to the artists who took the time to paint Austin’s walls with such a message of empowerment. And so pretty too! Isn’t it precioso?
Street art can challenge, educate, represent, inspire, and touch you. Si! Toda esas cosas! But it can also just be beautiful. It can, and what’s incredible is that it’s EXTRA amazing when it’s beauty reflects your own! Score! If it brings a smile a tu cara, then it’s a home fucking run!
Oh and by the way….
- In case you didn’t already catch it, these lyrics are about you, boo! You smiling yet?
I’ve said once before, If you were to scroll thru my camera roll, youβd find itβs about 40% street art.
What can I say? Iβm sucker for the art form.
The art that you don’t have to pay to see is oftentimes the most moving. La arte que pasas en la calle is sometimes what pushes you to be better, do better, love harder… I don’t make the rules! Its just true!
Maybe it’s because street artists are OF the people and BY the people. They represent the community around them. En muchas ocasiones, they give the people a voice… a microphone… a spotlight. You know how much I love that! On the flip, they also don’t have to play by the rules so their street art breaks molds, challenges ideals, and forces it’s viewers to rethink preconceived notions. Otra cosa que me gusta!
Mi gente, I implore you to give street art a chance. Give it a second look. Then look harder. It’s everywhere and its worthy of admiration. Also, if you get the chance, pump up the freelance artists who put their heart out on the street for the world to see. They deserve all the props!
I so hope that you enjoyed this virtual art gallery I created for you.
Hasta la proxima, mi gente! Los quiero!
Joana
3 Comments
Alisha
Such an inspiring collection! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Joana
Aww thanks so much! Iβm so glad you enjoyed this little virtual street art gallery!:)
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