More Art on the Street

I despise graffiti, and Mexico City, like most large cities has its share of it.  And I do not consider it to be art; it is nothing more than vandalism.

However, as I have written before, there is also much art to found on the streets of Mexico City.  Some of the street artists may have started out as graffiti vandals, but happily they have chosen to enhance their city instead of marring it.

The street art can be found in almost every part of the city, but there are certain areas where there is a high concentration of it.  Last week I stumbled upon a couple more areas.

When I was in the historic center of the city I was walking along Regina Street which in recent years has been pedestrianized, and is now lined with restaurants, cafes and bars.  I came upon this painting, on the wall of a children's playground, which is a parody of Diego Rivera's famous mural "Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central".

Continuing down the street there were several more paintings.

Another day when I visited the Vasconcelos Library, I saw that most of the facades of two city blocks heading east from there were decorated with artwork.  "The Buenavista - Guerrero Art Corridor" was a cooperative effort between the neighborhood and the borough government to improve the appearance of the rather shabby neighborhood.  

Even with the Vasconcelos Library and the glitzy Buenavista Mall a stone's throw away, It is still not a very good neighborhood, and I would not recommend wandering around here at night.  But if you are interested in street art, this would be one of the top places in the city to see it.