Murals in South America

"Mural Monday" is a blogging event where a large number of lovers of street art share images on blogs from around the world. I've enjoyed the diversity of murals from every continent except Antarctica. This event is sponsored by Sami, who lives in Perth, Australia. For more murals, check her blog each Monday -- here: https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/

South America has been less well-represented among the many murals posted. So I decided to do something about that! First, I'll repeat a photo I took last year in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world:

"Todos somos Fuentealba" -- political wall art which intrigued me on our brief tour of the small downtown (which is
mainly souvenir shops where I didn't go). A friend explained that Carlos Fuentealba (1966-2007) was a socialist/labor activist in Argentina. During a protest, he was shot in the back by a policeman.

This was the only mural I photographed during that trip, which was mainly dedicated to wildlife and other outdoor activities, not to cities. However, my birding friend Pam has been on a very long trip including both cities and wildlife in Chile, Argentina, the Faulkland Islands, Antarctica, and other destinations in South America. She photographed a number of murals, and kindly gave me permission to reproduce her photos here.

Pam's Photos of Murals in Valparaiso, Chile:

Pam's Photos of Murals in Buenos Aires, Argentina:

Finally, from our visit to the Upper Amazon in 2017.

Along the route from the riverboat landing to the airport in Iquitos.
Houses beside the road were vividly painted.

Also near the road, there were long walls covered with murals. Hard to see from the moving limo.

Decorating cities of all types with beautiful, interesting murals seems to be a worldwide trend at the moment. Historically, mural painting has some deep roots: for example, in Italy. A reproduction of some murals from ancient Pompeii appears in our local campus museum. Much later, Italian home owners often painted religious murals on their outside walls. The tradition continues: I once stayed in a hotel facing a building in Pisa, Italy, that had been painted by muralist Keith Haring (1958-1990).

In the early part of the 20th century, Diego Rivera (1886-1957) was famous for his murals -- a fine example of his work is in the central courtyard of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Regional American painter Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) produced some famous murals at about the same time. At present, the secret identity of the British muralist Bansky receives a lot of press. The more I think about this, the more I want to know.