GRIP, Internships Abroad Small Things Matter the Most

Done Comunicación - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Some of the best experiences one can have are those unplanned, those not found in any guide book or website. In my time so far in Buenos Aires, these experiences have been the little things: discovering new cafes or streets filled with art and political graffiti, walking around parks simply taking it all in or deciding to try a restaurant on a whim. 

Buenos Aires is a city unlike any I've ever experienced in the United States. It is split into distinct barrios each with their own flavors, architecture, and history. One thing I've noticed, though, is the ubiquity of street art. While at home we see often see meaningless graffiti scribbled onto buildings, but rarely in business-centric areas. If it is there, its often quickly covered over. That is definitely not the case in Buenos Aires. Regardless of the area, you will see things painted on the walls of buildings. Rather than just tags of names, the graffiti here is often political, with popular images or slogans of social movements. Apart from political art, I've found myself walking along a seemingly average street only to find houses fully painted with a mural on top of them. All this art in unexpected places is one of the reasons Buenos Aires has such a vibrancy to it. 

Street art epitomizes the amateur, the teenager searching for a platform, a place where the average citizen can voice frustrations. Argentina has plenty of reason for frustration as a nation and it is unafraid to show it. Argentinians are unafraid of political arguments and the pervasiveness of political icons and messages only further exemplifies this. 

Street art feels more permanent than paper. Here, it serves as a public reminder of the past. To represent "los desaparecidos" or the "disappeared" children of the military junta period, mothers who lost children don headscarves each week and continue to protest in legacy of the children they lost. The scarf icon is stenciled all over the city, anywhere from sidewalk corners to above the firehose nozzle on an embassy. 

The idea of graffiti and street art carries a negative connotation in the United States. Here, it carries with it empowerment and a voice for the people. Street art is inspiration and courage. It is never forgetting.