Urban Art
Translated by Stephanie Lawyer
In a conquered land, the natives resort to migration. There are no plots of land anymore: violence has turned them into clandestine graves. In the streets, art finds free expression through aerosol spray and blood, not on canvas but on walls, because walls too can shout.
On the front of the tortilla shop, a woman with Zapotecan features drinks in Santa Muerte from a bottle of mezcal. Her indigenous clothes make her a victim of tourist exploitation. Tattooed on her arms and face are the marks of her executioners; she defies them by looking directly into their eyes.
An irreverent medium, a social critic, a display that weeps tears of multi-colored ink. Mexico lives wrapped in a magical party, but inside she tears herself apart and dies. With dark graffiti, the muralists incite rebellion.
With thanks to Rita and Elwin Wirkala
