Valparaiso - South America's graffiti wonderland

Again, please forgive any awkward formatting, it offends us as much as we assume it offends you.

'Valparaiso, how absurd you are...you haven't combed your hair, you've never had time to get dressed, life has always surprised you.' These words were written by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who fell in love with and lived in Valparaiso during the mid 20th century. Before you ask, I am not particularly well-versed in Chilean poets, but instead have unashamedly borrowed these words straight from our trusty guide throughout this trip, Lonely Planet's South America on a shoestring. For me, Neruda's words capture the essence of this unique and eccentric city. Hopefully by the end of this post you'll be able to see why.

While researching Valparaiso prior to our visit, Jay and I noticed one of two trends: people either absolutely love the city, or can't stand it. And I can see why people might dislike it; parts of the city are quite dirty, dogdy, unnecessarily chaotic and uninspiring. Nevertheless, I belong to team 'I heart Valparaiso'. Before I explain why, I'll briefly outline the city's history to better contextualise it for you.

Even the stairs in Valpariso are beautifully decorated!

Historically Valparaiso was a key Chilean port up until the early 20th century, when a devastating earthquake and the opening of the Panama Canal changed its fate.

We were lucky enough to get these amazing views of Valparaiso from the 27th floor of our apartment block.

During the 1970s, when Chile was under the oppressive dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, political murals/graffiti work sprung up as a form of protest on the streets of Valparaiso. As Chile slowly democratised, the graffiti culture - which had until that point been anonymous and subversive - continued to thrive, so much so that the local government approved it as long as it remained creative and positively contributed to the aesthetic of the city. Thus the motley nature of 'Valpo' was, and has since, continued to be encouraged.

The top half of this mural is an example of political graffiti. The artist has compared current society to livestock for its tendency to blindly follow the orders of capitalist 'masters'.

As someone who self-identifies as being extremely directionally challenged, it was an incredibly fun city to get lost in. Because even if you did get lost, you'd be greeted with a plethora of whacky and fantastical murals to distract and enchant you.

The artist of the image in the foreground features quite prominently in Valpariso and uses Christian symbolism (such as serpents and nail wounds) to explore the themes of temptation and sacrifice.

This mural, which also happens to be somebody's front fence (!!), is made up entirely of individual dots - a technique that is incredibly difficult to achieve successfully with spray cans.

This mural can only be viewed wholly from the second floor of the apartment block we were standing under.

Just walking up and down the same streets seemed like a different adventure each time. Buildings that looked plain and ordinary from one angle had magnificent, psychedelic murals painted on them on their other side. I was constantly awed by the artists extraordinary skill and attention to detail, with some murals made up of individual dots, while others could only be viewed properly from particular angles. All of these combined factors made me feel a little like I was Alice who had jumped down a rabbit hole into a vivid and kalaedescopic wonderland.

An example of a psychedelic mural. How did they even get up there to complete it!?

These artists, whose work also features quite prominently in Valparaiso, were commissioned to complete this mural. They are a couple whose murals always include a male and female character to represent themselves. This mural also happens to be the largest one in Chile or South America - I can't remember which!

An example of a more realist style mural.

However Valparaiso made us work hard for the reward of viewing its artwork. The streets were incredibly steep and I often found myself out of breath after enthusiastically racing up a hill to see the next incredible mural. Nevertheless, the unexpected workout was definitely worth it!

One of the many beautiful, albeit super steep, streets of Valparaiso.

When we got tired of walking up hills we'd jump on one of the city's many funiculars to give ourselves a break. 

How we felt after walking up and down the steep streets of Valapariso.

If you're thinking 'Gosh, Julia sure sounds like she knows a lot about street art, I wonder if she's secretly been part of a graffiti crew for the past few years?', then I firstly thank you for thinking I could be bad-ass enough to be part of a graffiti crew. However, I have to confess that I did get some assistance with Valparaiso's street art knowledge thanks to the Street Art Walking Tour Jay and I did. Not only are we now well versed in street 'crew' lingo (OK, I still have a bit of practising to do), it also gave us an appreciation of the evolution, purpose and styles of graffiti artwork and culture which I've tried to describe in this post. I was particularly pleased to learn that a number of female artists are increasingly gaining street cred in Valaparaiso - boo yeah! So the tour is definitely one I'd recommend if you ever get the chance to visit this incredible city.

An example of a female graffiti artist's work.

Another example of a female graffiti artist's work.