The Best Street Art in South America for 2013

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If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you already know that I love street art. During my time in South America I’ve come across some really remarkable art by some very talented artists — and there are still so many places I haven’t seen! For this round-up, I’ve picked some of my favourite murals that I found in 2013. Just one thing, some of these works may have been created earlier than 2013, but since that’s when I photographed them I’m including them here. Enjoy some of the best street art in South America!

Malegría + Ene N in Buenos Aires

I’ve been a fan of Malegría’s work since I first saw it in Bogotá. When I visited Buenos Aires, I was happy to find out that it is now Malegría’s adopted home and that there are many pieces to see. One of my favourite was this mural created in collaboration with Ene N. Their work is not only beautiful but it’s also interesting how it all came together thanks to the people behind Buenos Aires Street Art. For the story go here.

Eney Crazis in Santiago, Chile

Walking around the Yungay neighbourhood in Santiago, I came across this pretty bird by female artist Eney Crazis. The piece is titled Textura Ornamental; I just love the colours and how well it blends with the setting. I also liked her feminine style and was happy to find more of her works around Valparaíso as well.

REN in Valparaiso

Ren a street artist from Chile also has a predilection for featuring birds in his murals. When I saw this awesome rooster I couldn’t resist taking a few snaps, the colours and texture are just awesome!

Bastardilla in Valparaiso

Colombian female artist Bastardilla painted this mural for the Polanco Graffestival, which took place in Valparaiso’s Cerro Polanco on November 2012. More recently, she’s been travelling with Italian artist Ericailcane – another of my favourite muralists. They left many murals around South America and have toured Europe as well.

Brigada Negotropica & Charquipunk in Cochabamba

Cochabamba in Bolivia was a very pleasant surprise for street art. In 2011, the local organisation mARTadero held the first biennale of Urban Art and last year they organised the second edition. So there are lots of beautiful murals in the city left from these events. One of my favourites was the one above, a collaboration between Brigada Negotropica and Charquipunk.

Stinkfish in Valparaiso

Another artist whose works I love to find when I travel is Stinkfish, he was actually born in Mexico but has lived in Bogotá, Colombia since an early age. His murals are based on photographs of people that he mostly takes himself and then converts into colourful murals.

Animales Poder Cultura in La Paz

Animales Poder Cultura (APC) is a collective of graffiti artists, some of them are based in Colombia; but I guess they’ve been travelling a bit, because when I was in La Paz I stumbled upon some of their murals. My favourite was the one above.

Entes & Pesimo in Valparaiso

Entes & Pésimo are both from Lima, Peru. Their Latin roots are very much present in their styles and they often work together. Last year, they organised in Lima the street art festival Latido Americano, featuring artists from all over South America.

Azucar + Piguan in Santiago

One of the things I loved about travelling in South America was learning about new (for me) local street artists. For example in Santiago de Chile, I saw a couple of murals by locals Azúcar (which means sugar in Spanish) and Piguan, who likes to portray multi-eyed characters; like the one on the right.

Charquipunk + LRM + INTI in Valparaíso

Another great find in Chile, was local artist Charquipunk with his colourful characters made from loose lines. He paints lots of birds! This mural is a collaboration with other local artists La Robot de Madera (LRM) and INTI. The latest has been very busy this year, travelling around the Americas and Europe; so don’t be surprised to find one of his massive murals in your city!

Steep in Cochabamba

Steep is an artist from Ecuador, but now based in USA. This mural was made in Cochabamba for the Second Urban Art Biennale in that city. I just loved the colours of this piece and its beautiful nature.

Defos in Valparaiso

If I had to choose just one favourite mural from all that I saw in 2013, it’d probably be this one by Defos. I love the colours, the shapes and how the artists incorporated the window into his work. This mural was also painted for the Polanco Graffestival that took place in Valparaiso at the end of 2012.

Do you enjoy seeing street art when you travel? Which is your favourite city for street art? And your favourite artist? Leave me a comment and let me know!