STREET ART #39 – Valparaiso (Chile) is the place to be

Before I went to Argentina and Chile in January this year, I had heard that Buenos Aires is the city in Latin America with the best street art. My first stop on this trip was Buenos Aires. It did not disapoint, even I only saw a litle of what the city has to offer. A few weeks later I came to Chile where I had a stopover in both Santiago de Chile and Valparaiso.

When I came to Valparaiso I was amazed! I haven’t been to many cities in South-America, but Valparaiso surpassed all my expectations. This city is packed with graffiti and street art. It has become part of the identity of the city, ranging from simple tagging to large murals. The variety is enormous!

Every house and every street has street art. Not only on houses. On benches, doors, stairs and even on the sidewalk.

Valparaiso is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, situated on hills, which gives a great view of the city and the harbour. The two «hills», Alegre and Concepcion were mainly developed by English and German immigrants, which is easy to see when looking at the houses of these districts. The architecture is just as interesting to look at, as the street art.

My first walking tour around the two areas was on a guided tour. It turned out to be a good idea. It was informative, not only about the art and artists, but also the history of the city and the architecture. It did give a good background for understanding the city, the history and the art scene. Otherwise, just walk straight out in streets and you can be certain to see beautiful artwork and artists working.

According to the guide there might be several thousands pieces of art in the city! I think I returned with almost 200 photoes! And that is only a small selection. If I should have seen all of these paintings, I would need many days. One good thing is that the areas with the largest concentration of art is easy walkable. And almost every house has a painting, you will see many in the same street.