The Travel Chica

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Buenos Aires Odd Jobs: The Tour Guide Part 2 – Graffiti Art

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In the previous Odd Jobs for expats interview, you met Jonathan from Buenos Aires Local Tours.

Next up . . .

Jonny and Marina from Graffitimundo

What is your tourism niche in BA?

As part of our project graffitimundo, we run guided tours of Buenos Aires street art and graffiti. We know many of the artists personally, so we introduce people to all the stories behind the art on the walls.

Note from Stephanie:  The best part of the tour for me was learning the stories behind the art.

Where are you from and how did you end up living in Buenos Aires?

I’m originally from England.  In 2009, my boyfriend and I moved to Buenos Aires from London to experience life in another country far away from home. We’d heard lots of good things about Buenos Aires and once we had settled here, we kept finding more and more reasons to stay!

What did you do before jumping into tours?

Well I wouldn’t say I work in tours, although our tours provide the funds to allow our project to continue.  Graffitimundo is focused on the promotion of the Buenos Aires street art scene and its artists.

I previously worked in advertising in London, which had its fun moments, but ultimately I wanted to work in something I was passionate about – graffitimundo is definitely it.

How did you get the idea for your business?

When I arrived in Buenos Aires I became friends with another English girl, Jo Sharff, and we both became obsessed with the street art and graffiti here. We started to find out about the scene, its artists and how it all evolved. The stories we heard from the artists were fascinating.  Art and politics are inextricably linked here in Argentina, and the artists paint as an expression of freedom and to speak with people in Buenos Aires.  We were fascinated by the stories we heard and felt that we had to tell more people about what we had discovered.

We started the tours soon after that, once we had made sure that all the artists we talk about were happy for us to do so. When we’re not running tours, we’re working closely with the artists to help sell their work and promote their art.

Why is your tourism niche successful?

I think we’re tapping into a fairly underground scene which tourists love to connect with.  It makes people feel as though they are uncovering the ‘real’ Buenos Aires. Looking at a piece of graffiti that has been painted that day is something so immediate and fresh that you can’t help but feel energized and excited. It’s a great antidote to the hackneyed steak restaurants and tango scenes! We show people that there is more to the city than those things.  (Although the meat here IS amazing!)

As a tourist, you can see graffiti everywhere, but you’re not necessarily able to understand what it means or why it is there and how it can be all over the city without the authorities preventing it.  A lot of people who come on the tour say it opens their eyes to the art and makes them look at graffiti in a different, more appreciative way, which is great as that’s just what we want.

What do you love most about your work?

I feel honoured to be working with some incredibly talented artists. Having lived in Buenos Aires for 4 years, I’ve been able to witness the rise of some of the younger artists, like Ever for example, which is really exciting.  They are an inspiration.  I love being able to watch them work and witness first-hand their ability to connect with their city and make it more beautiful.  I just want to support these guys as much as possible, so they can get out into the world and touch more people with their art.

What do you love most about Buenos Aires?

The freedom of expression, the creativity, the energy… it is such an antidote to grey life in the West, and one of the most exciting cities to live in in the world.

Why should someone travelling to Buenos Aires contact you for a tour/ how is your tour different from others?

How if your tour different from other tours?

Well as you might be able to tell, we are very passionate about the Buenos Aires street art and graffiti scenes! We are not a typical tour company, or typical guides. We are people who love the art and want to share this with others.

We take you to places that you’d never normally visit as a tourist and take you to meet the artists, go to their studios and witness a burgeoning art movement that will totally explode over the next few years.

Take a tour!

You can read more about my personal experience doing a graffiti tour on bike.  I had so much fun and was really impressed by the art I saw that day.  Contact Graffitimundo to organize a tour.

Comments

  5. I have been loving the graffiti art during my travels in Latin America. I could agree with you all more about what a great idea this is. I hope I discover more tours like this as I continue my travels.

  6. There’s a tour in Berlin that offers a similar thing. I think it’s called Alternative Berlin where they take you round and show you the different styles of street art throughout the city. I read about it about a year ago on another travel blog and was blown away by it.

    Here in in Australia, Melbourne has a vibrant street art scene but you have to know the areas where the street art is prevalent. We may have tours here too. I’m not too sure. Would be worth Googling along with the boutique beers you like if you’re ever planning a journey in the neighbourhood.

    I saw an ad a few months ago on Mumbrella, an advertising website that was spruiking this feature of Melbourne to a UK youth audience so I do know that it is something that’s on the radar of Tourism Victoria – our local tourist body.

    • I wish I would have known that when I was in Berlin. Oh well…. I’ll be back one day.

      The more I hear about Melbourne, the more I think I need to bump it to the top of my travel list. I’m reading Bill Bryson’s book, and I just got to the part where he explains his love for the city.
      The Travel Chica recently posted..A Great Wine Tasting in Buenos Aires

      • I think you’d really like it here. We’re a big multicultural city so we’ve got a bit of everything scattered throughout the year. We even have a Spanish Fiesta once a year in the inner city.

        You’d like the Yarra Valley which is an hour or so from central Melbourne. That’s packed full of wineries. In fact you’ll find wineries most directions from Melbourne almost no matter where you go. There’s the Carlton and United Brewery in Melbourne which does tours on a regular basis. That’s the biggest brewer in Melbourne. The boutique or craft beers – Redback Brewery comes to mind; there are plenty of in and around Melbourne but you’ll need to do some research to find them.

        We’re also Australia’s home of sport – Aussie Rules Football in particular. I highly recommend you see at least one game so you can say that you’ve seen it whilst you were here.

        Fashion wise – there is tonnes to talk about. Both good and cheap clothes are for the taking.

        The Food and Drink are excellent in Melbourne. We have the best coffee in Australia by a wide margin. You can go to any cafe and expect an outstanding coffee, even McDonald’s now.

        I personally like Melbourne because it’s much more relaxed than other cities like Sydney for example. People will generally be friendly and helpful if you need directions. Check out http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au .It’s got a whole lot of info as to what’s going on in and around the city. If you end up coming let me know and I’ll give you the inside running on where to get cheap to free meals and where the cheap clothes are. Bring plenty of cash with you if you decide to come because Melbourne due to the high Aussie Dollar is one of the most expensive cities in the world. As of today one Aussie Dollar buys $1.03 US. Oh and I forgot to tell you; Melbourne is where Lonely Planet started.

    • We just took the Alternative Berlin Walking Tour a few days ago! It was amazing – definitely the best walking tour I’ve been on. I appreciate tours that show something a little more unique than the “this is what everyone sees when they visit” sites, and Berlin has so much (counter)culture that it was awesome to get insider info.

      Fun fact: I learned that if you can complete a graffiti art piece in less than two minutes, then you won’t get caught by the police in Berlin (it takes three minutes for them to respond). 😉
      Technosyncratic recently posted..East Side Gallery: Artwork on the Berlin Wall

  9. I really like the idea of graffiti tours. I think graffiti is generally looked down upon in the cities when in actuality, it can be a really beautiful thing. Not the ones where people are doing their best to deface property, but colorful, soulful expressions splashed on a large canvas is always inspiring.
    Renee recently posted..Be your own hero

  10. I tend to have zero appreciation for graffiti, but I imagine that it’s mainly because everything I see where I live starts with “Grad” or ends in “was here”. The stuff that gets posted from South America looks more like full on art to me. Somebody actually explaining what’s behind it would make it so much more accessible.
    Steve recently posted..Why I Always Read Expedia’s E-mails.

  16. What a cool tour! I love that they give you what sounds to be an artist statement so that you can find out the artist’s intention. Also, as she mentioned, I assume there is a lot to be learning about politics from learning about the graffiti.
    Laura recently posted..Live Music and a Whole Lotta Bats

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