
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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