Where to find the best Street Art in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, the beautiful capital of Argentina, has become a renowned hub for street art lovers. In certain parts of the city, abandoned buildings have become canvases for creativity and expression. And the best part of all? You can admire these larger-than-life works of art for free!
The street art in the city can be colourful and joyful or it can narrate the difficult history of the country. Some of the politically charged graffiti highlights the horror of the dictatorship and its disappearance or the economic crisis of the 2000s, others are light-hearted, funny and abstract. These murals are an eclectic compilation of this vibrant city.
Buenos Aires street art has gained global popularity attracting renowned local artists and international street artits. The popularity of these murals has extended to the web, the city of Buenos Aires partnered with Google Cultural Institute which aims to document the world’s street art and graffiti in a virtual library. You can click here to view it all! This virtual library comes with a guided audio tour so you can hear the stories behind these murals.
In search of the best street art in Buenos Aires, I have asked other travel bloggers where to find the best street art in the city! Read on how to discover Buenos Aires through this unusual itinerary!
Palermo Hollywood
by Claudia Tavani from My Adventures Across The World
Palermo Hollywood is one of the best neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires to admire street art. The entire area is scattered with murals, and street art tours will help put all of them in context. During a good street art tour of Palermo Hollywood, you get to find out more about the techniques and styles used by the various artists. But, most importantly, you learn a lot about the socio-political, cultural and historical context of the mural, which in turn will help get a better understanding of the city and country altogether.
The best murals in Palermo can be found near the Mercado de las Pulgas (flea market) and in Colegiales.
Palermo is an overall incredible neighbourhood to experience the nightlife and bar scene of Buenos Aires, with plenty of good restaurants and pubs that serve craft beer. Plaza Serrano is one of the main hangouts, and at weekends there is a small feria (market) where you can buy anything from souvenirs to clothing.
Psst: This neighbourhood has a few tango-themed murals with of course Carlos Gardel portraits.
Calle Santa Rosa
By Andrea LaPlant from One Savvy Wanderer
There’s something magical about walking around a city and exploring its public art. Not behind museum doors or in a fancy gallery or your hotel lobby, but right there, on the very streets you’re walking down. No street in Buenos Aires is better for doing that than Calle Santa Rosa in Palermo Soho.
The street has been taken over by BA Paste Up, a collective of six Argentinian street artists whose mission it is to find unused, unappreciated public space and turn it into a colorful explosion of expression. Each artist brings their own style. One artist is famous for his sullen-eyed cartoon faces whose baseball caps always proclaim a message; another makes funky little monsters with colorful bodies and big heads full of expression. Together, they have made something well worthy of an afternoon of exploring. Especially if you pair that afternoon with other free activities in Buenos Aires!
And as you explore the city, keep an eye out for more of their work—the group is always expanding!
La Boca
by Erin Mushaway from Sol Salute
The Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca is famous for its colorful facades, but if you go a few blocks off the beaten tourist path you’ll be treated to some of the city’s best street art. One of my favorite things to do in La Boca is to walk the streets surrounding the Usina del Arte Cultural Center and see what new murals have popped up. My favorite is one block from the museum: a 2-story mural of a cowboy asleep atop his horse. Explore the blocks under the highway overpass behind Usina del Arte to see some excellent murals. This area of La Boca has been cleaned up in recent years and it’s much safer than it used to be (but it’s still important to be careful and aware of your surroundings anywhere in the city). And while I love the area surrounding Usina del Arte, you don’t actually need to venture far from the comforts of the Caminito district of La Boca to see great street art. Murals are tucked away on the side streets and on the sides of buildings, waiting for you to find them.
Psst: Mel here, Alfredo ‘El Pelado’ Segatori painted a huge mural in Barracas, it is 2,000 square meters long! El Regreso de Quinquela, spans various buildings, paying homage to the people of La Boca and to the reknown Benito Quinquela Martín.
San Telmo
by Daniel James from Layer Culture
The Street Art in Buenos Aires is some of the best you will find in Argentina. When exploring the neighbourhoods and looking for good artwork be sure to head down to San Telmo. Known as one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city and for its impressive artwork done usually on the front or side of derelict buildings.
Take this high-quality piece done by Cyzer. Located on México 257, it stood out as a stand-alone piece on a street where the other vandalism surrounding it makes the whole block look ugly. The street art pieces that you will find in this area will usually tell a story based on a historic event and send out a message to the locals. So, whilst ever in Buenos Aires head down to the San Telmo neighbourhood and find an inspiring piece of street art that you can relate to. If you are interested in other contemporary art forms, you can also check out the Museum of Contemporary Art that is located nearby in the same neighbourhood.
Take a tour!
by Fiona Berry from Passport and Piano
The Graffiti Mundo tour is a great way to explore some of the best Street Art in Buenos Aires. The journey begins at the corner of Conde, and Jorge Newbery in Colegiales in front of a house painted with murals, it is well off the beaten track and not a place you’d think to visit. However, it is home to some fabulous paintings.
As we wandered around the neighbourhood the guide gave us an informative insight into both the history of street art in this Argentinean city and the skillful artists behind the paintings.
The tour also includes a short minibus ride into the central part of Palmero, to look at some more impressive artwork this time on the walls of several restaurants. Some of the stencil work here is truly amazing, and the stencils must have taken hours to make.
All profit from the Graffiti Mundo is used to fund projects, and our next stop on tour was a gallery where street artists could sell their work. This small but delightful place housed a studio and a range of art from picture postcards to serious wall hangings. You're under no obligation to buy anything but it is a great way to give something back to the artists who display their talents for free through the street art around the city.
The tour concludes at a pub which also incorporates a rather unique gallery and it’s a joy to grab a beer while you admire the surroundings. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling with artwork both on the inside and out, even the roof was sprayed.
Comic strip walk
by Danielle Lawson from Live in 10 Countries
The Paseo de la Historieta in Buenos Aires is a free, self-guided comic strip walk that takes you through the pretty San Telmo district, introducing you to titbits of local culture, through a series of cute sculptures.
You walk through a sea of famous Argentine characters and can take selfies with them in their famous poses. It's whimsical, nostalgic and a great way to get to know the city - taking only a couple of hours to complete at a gentle stroll. The tour is well spaced out, with something to see every block or two and includes well-known figures like Don Fulgencio, the star of the black and white film who is all about his inner child and Gaturro, a cheeky, mischievous cat with a distinctive smile.
Most famous of all, and a great starting point for your explorations, is thoughtful little Mafalda, who sits on a bench on the corner of two well-known streets, Defensa and Chile, waiting to meet you.
If you are looking for more urban art in Buenos Aires, you should head to Villa Urquiza and neighbouring Coghlan which has around 12 murals and graffiti to see, some by the artist Martin Ron. Villa Urquiza is a little out of the city center. Colegiales has an impressive mural of Frida Khalo. Or in Barracas to see the mosaics of Marino Santa Maria on Calle Lanin (just South of Boca). The up-and-coming Villa Crespo also has a few art pieces, especially the ones by Nicolas Romero Escalada that are worth adding to your itinerary.
Which mural are you going to see first? Let me know!
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