Pichacao’

Sonik, an American graffiti artist, that has been to Sao Paulo 3 times, remembers the impact of seeing the pichacoes’ for the first time: “When I came to Sao Paulo for the first time, I went mad only by looking through the window at the walls full of pichos’, on the way from the airport to Cambuci (a neighbourhood in the south-central zone famous for its graffitis, mainly because of many works made by OsGemeos). I forgot about the vitality of the Berlin Wall, and I have found it again in Sao Paulo! It has changed my life.” For Sonik and other graffiti experts, Sao Paulo is special because of its variety of styles and the mix of techniques, sprays, caps, rolls, brushes.

Os Gemeos

As Flip, a new and renowned talent of his generation, says, another important fact that makes Sao Paulo different is that the language is far from an exclusive hip hop cliche although it’s one of its elements. “The lines and kinds of drawings are free, I guess that more than in any other place; there are new artists following old school style and there are people creating new styles mixing graffiti with design and other stuffs.”

Flip

Maybe so many styles imprinted on the walls of Sao Paulo stew from to the mix of resident cultures of the city. They are the living proof that Sao Paulo is really a cultural melting pot – Japanese, Italian, German, Portuguese, African cultures all mixed up. If Sao Paulo walls could talk, we would listen to dubs of reggae, rap, rock, drum’n’bass and regional old songs. Come closer and tune in to it!