In this post I will revisit the theme of graffiti and street art that always fascinates me. Recently I spent a week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Something I always notice in Buenos Aires, and also in most other countries outside the United States, is that the graffiti is much more explicitly political. Over time, the graffiti I have seen in Buenos Aires has developed artistically. In past visits, I found that it lacked creativity and were just words written on a wall attacking the government. This trip there was much more visually creative work, resembling much of what I see in my neighborhood in New York.This stencil reflects a progression into a modern style of graffiti while still maintaining the political activism that is always present. I saw this stencil and others with a similar message in many places throughout the city. It reads "¿Y Julio López?" Which translates to, "And Julio López?" it is referencing the 2007 disappearance of Julio López. López had “disappeared” for the first time from 1976-79 during the infamous era of military dictatorship in Argentina.
About 30 years after the era of “disappearances,” the Argentine government finally began to prosecute those responsible for the Diry War. López was a key witness against the first defendant, Miguel Etchecolatz, the Director of Investigations of Buenos Aires Provincial Police under the military government. López “disappeared” hours before he was supposed to give his final testimony. Fortunately, Etchecolatz and many others were convicted despite not having López’ last testimony, but López is still missing. The national government and Buenos Aires provincial police have made very little progress in finding López.
Returning to the theme of graffiti, this piece demonstrates a progression in the artistic quality of graffiti but still maintains the explicitly political nature. For me, this is a more effective use of the medium to convey the message. It is an interesting design that has artistic value independent of the message.
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