Chilean Street Art

Graffiti in Chile is currently experiencing a stage of constant growth, driven by the creative freedom offered by major urban art cities like Valparaíso and Santiago. Cekis (@cekis, DVE Crew) and Inti Castro (@inti), the great pioneers of graffiti from the late ’90s and early 2000s, inspired new generations to paint in the streets and explore new large-scale painting techniques. There has also been a steady rise of women in the graffiti scene, influenced by the legend Andrea Cecilia Bernal (ACB) (@acb_1981), Gigi (@gigigraffiti), Juana Pérez (@juanaperez1987), Anís (@anispintora), and Bisy (@bisyunah), the sister of artist Cekis. Today, Chile’s graffiti movement is highly regarded worldwide, positioning Valparaíso as a global reference point in the world of graffiti.

Graffiti in Chile began with two main factors: hip hop and the return of democracy. In the Valparaiso region, specifically, the emergence of this phenomenon was closely linked to hip hop culture. The nascent signs of graffiti appeared in Valparaiso, led by the city’s B-boys, with the always underground Loco Alien taking the lead. By the mid-1980s, he was already drawing his characteristic Alien with Converse sneakers, adorned with 80s graffiti lettering and humorous messages directed at his Valparaiso B-boy friends, all in the form of posters and clothing. Additionally, from this first generation, we can mention B-Boy Pipo and Jam, who were also involved in both graffiti and breakdancing. According to recent information provided by the artist himself, Pipo graffitied the walls parallel to the train in 1989 near the Recreo Yacht Club. In 1992, a transgenerational milestone occurred with a collaborative graffiti painting by Valparaiso B-boys and BRS from the DDC, also on Avenida España near Recreo.

In the early 90s, the first crew of graffiti artists called “DDC” was formed in Viña del Mar, consisting of BRS (Boris Fernandois), Shot1 (Hamburgo), DJ Q, Pesh1 (Madrid), and Abismal. They systematically spray painted on walls in the neighborhoods of Santa Julia, Santa Inés, Miraflores, Forestal, and dilapidated areas of downtown Viña, such as the abandoned walls of the former CRAV company and trains near the now-defunct Bohn Street. Due to the high exposure of the area and the frequent police presence, these young artists moved their graffiti base to Capuchinos Bridge, starting to paint the first graffiti on the train line connecting Valparaiso with the rest of the region. 

Many children of exiles joined this group of teenagers, bringing graffiti magazines from around the world, including the famous Graphotism, and others from Germany, the United States, etc. In 1993, artist House from Santiago frequently visited Valparaiso, leaving his tags in the city, though he had not yet met the Viña graffiti artists. They inevitably met in 1995 at the hip-hop hub of the time, Villanelo Street Plaza. By mid-1994, ACB (Andrea Bernal), the first woman and the most prominent graffiti artist in Chile to date, joined the group of young artists. Her work extended even to the United States, where she signed her tag and always credited the DDC, who were the first to suggest and invite Andrea to become a graffiti artist when she was a nothing but a talented child who drew very well in her sketchbook. This proposal was not just words but also came with the gift of ACB’s first spray paints, with which she painted her first graffiti. She left everyone amazed at

Written by Francisco Astorga Gonzalez