Latin American cities with urban art

Latin American cities are ‘canvases’ for incredible urban art
Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá and Mexico City are Latin American destinations with strong representatives of street art – as urban art is known

You don’t need to go further than a walk through the streets to feel like you’re in an art gallery: street art, or urban art, whose movement began in the United States in the 1970s, is all over the world, on walls, bridges, viaducts and facades. And in Latin America, it has gained even more strength, with countries becoming authentic open-air museums.

Before you think about getting your passport, remember that Brazil is also Latin America. In other words, it is included in the list of destinations with incredible urban art.

This is the case of São Paulo: The largest metropolis on the continent, the capital of São Paulo is overflowing with examples of this artistic style. Some of the best-known spaces are Beco do Batman, in the Vila Madalena neighborhood; the Minhocão viaduct, a highway with countless graffiti on its columns; and, finally, the Open Museum of Urban Art (MAAU), where you can admire more than 70 different murals.
Another Brazilian city that stands out for its street art is Rio de Janeiro. The famous Selarón Steps, in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, is a must-see for any tourist. This work of urban art was created by Jorge Selarón, a Chilean painter and ceramist, and was inspired by Park Güell in Barcelona.

But it is not the only one. The marvelous city even has a representative in the Guinness Book: the giant 3,000m² mural by artist Eduardo Kobra, on the Boulevard Olímpico.
Urban arts of the hermanos
The Mexican capital brings together beautiful examples of street art, with the colors and strong features typical of the country. On a quick tour, you can even see some examples underground, at the Insurgentes metro station, which has a large mural from 1990.

Several walls and buildings throughout Mexico City are also overflowing with urban art, such as the streets of Colonia Roma and the building of the Centro Cultural Polyforum Siqueiros, whose iconic façade was painted by artist David Alfaro Siqueiros.

The Callao district in Peru has become a true epicenter of Latin urban art and has gained fame for its artistic initiatives related to graffiti. One of the best ways to get to know the region is to start your tour in the monumental zone, which is home to more than 60 murals.

A few minutes away by car, Villa El Salvador, one of Lima's largest suburbs, also offers hundreds of works representing the Quechua, Aymara, Amazonian and Afro-descendant ethnic groups.

Across the border, the port city of Valparaíso, in Chile, is considered a World Heritage Site, one of the reasons for its varied urban art. Cerro Barón, accessible by the famous Polanco elevator, is a true open-air museum, with large murals decorating the facades of houses. The same is true of Cerro Bellavista, accessible by public transport, which also offers visitors a beautiful view of the port and the Pacific Ocean. Further north in South America, a good stop to admire art in the open air is Bogotá, in Colombia. This capital is considered by some to be the “Mecca of Graffiti”, due to its enormous and colorful murals. In the district of La Candelaria, visitors can see the main examples of these murals, created mainly in the 1980s. Many of them protest against inequality and social injustice – a great way to learn about local history.