The idea with the walking tour is to give you a taste of some of the styles and artists, then slap you in the face with the bike tour.
The Secret Graffiti and Urban Art Bike Tour isn't your typical tourist tour, and it is definitely off-the-beaten-track, in fact for a company like Biking Buenos Aires it is well outside the usual "safe & happy" tours for tourists that they're famous for. Which is why I'm writing about it.
On this tour which begins in San Telmo at Biking BA headquarters on Peru 988, the tour then passes through La Boca (where the Mona Lisa stencils to the left are to be found), then into the neighbourhood of Barracas.
Living over here on the other edge, it is a different kind of wild and definitely not boring. I miss the surf (five hours drive to a break here), mountain running (Cordoba's sierras are a long drive), so I used to get my adrenalin rush by cycling Buenos Aire's barrios (neighbourhoods) and shooting some of the graffiti. It never occurred to me that it could be a business, the like as such GraffitiMundo developed in conjunction with the support of a handful of local artists. There were zero cycle lanes back then and I guess it was pretty extreme, and many of the barrios along the edge of the capital are definitely not for strolling through, but it was also an awesome way to see and get to know the street art and it's different artists.
There is a fair amount of wall art in San Telmo considering the size and the available wall space, I think the Sunday street fair is a must-see for visitors and I'm surprised that some never even hear about it! There is tons to absorb, and so I thought a walking tour would be a great way to get people off of the main tourist drag, away from the throngs of people and check out some of the graffiti and art from another angle. The idea is to wander, explore and discover some of the street art and meet artists you might otherwise never come across.This is currently in process and if possible I will lead one or two this month before I head up to see the boys at Bike in Rio Tours for a few weeks, so stay tuned, or if you like to, leave a comment or mail me if you have an interest in seeing a different side of San Telmo.
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| Buenos Aires Street Art by Malagria and musicians from local theatre company Usted Está Aquí |
