Growing up in McArthur Park, my family and I lived in an old housing community. My mother was the manager, so the benefit was that we didn't pay rent. As you may or may not know, McArthur Park was a crime hub at the time, infested with gangs, drugs, and a thriving counterfeit identification industry. (The area hasn't changed much) In fact, I remember my 8th grade teacher Mr. Dempsey informing us that the one-block radius around McArthur Park, which I happened to live in, was, at one point, the most crime-ridden area in the world. Our house was part of a nine unit community, houses built entirely of wood and cement. (Our friends called it the cabins) Built on a hill, the front of the community had two huge walls that just so happened to be white, a perfect canvas for the territorial markings of our local gangs. (Wanderers 13, Crazy Riders, 18th Street, Mara Salvatrucha) We didn't have a parking lot, so any and all parking was on the street. My mom would pick my brother and I up from school and, often, our friends would tag along. I remember turning the corner on Lake Street, and praying that the walls weren't tagged up. At the time, it was embarrassing enough that the houses looked like they wouldn't survive another rain storm. Of course, nostalgically, I now long for my cabin.
Well, the houses I speak of have been torn down for about four or five years now, and the footprint now nests a beautiful apartment complex. The reason that I bring this up is that during my time in Sao Paulo, I've seen an unbelievable amount of graffiti, just about everywhere. Now, don't get me wrong, some of it is the beautiful, artistic graffiti emblematic of the hip-hop culture that I closely identify with. However, there is larger amount of the territorial, unsightly graffiti markings that make the decrepit buildings of Sao Paulo look even more dilapidated and deteriorated. For every stylish, contemporary high rise, there seems to be two or three run-down structures. Of course, it is the neglected buildings that are defaced by the repelling gang graffiti, intensifying the apocalyptic aura of the city, especially when the sun begins to set.
Graffiti has been around since the days of the cavemen. This isn't anything new and certainly nothing that you probably haven't already seen. But in person, you can't help but allow this to dramatize your experience of such a large and complex city.
Here are examples of both the good and the bad:
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