If these walls could talk: graffiti, place, & culture in Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal, Mexico

The practice of painting on walls and communicating through art on walls is a rich tradition in Distrito Federal, Mexico. This research investigates contemporary wall inscriptions throughout the regional landscape of Mexico City, seeking social, place-based context to specifically understand the use and function of contemporary muralism and graffiti in Delegation Iztapalapa. The researched questions posed in this study are: what is graffiti and how is it different from other types of wall inscriptions, how do graffiti makers identify/describe themselves, in what manner does graffiti produce ideas of culture, what stories of place are transmitted by graffiti makers and where are these stories transmitted, how is globalization made evident through graffiti practice and imagery, and how does the contemporary graffiti movement of Iztapalapa mimic, depart from, and compare to the Mexican mural movement of the Post-Revolutionary Period? To answer these questions, this study examines social hierarchies, accepted practices, state sponsorship, and visual content of graffiti and murals throughout the Central and Eastern portions of Mexico City spanning: Cuauhtemoc, Iztacalco, Coyoacan, Xochimilco, Tlalpan and the case study area of Iztapalapa. Methods include: semi-structured interviews, participant observation, visual ethnography, and collection of demographic data. The paper ultimately uncovers narrative and form that describe graffiti as an important method of storytelling about place, identity, and culture in Iztapalapa and as an evolutionary iteration of the historical Mexican Mural Movement.