Signs in Arica

I always keep an eye out for graffitti and posters in cities around the world because they offer a window into the concerns of locals in a way that travel guides sometimes gloss over or ignore.

In Arica, we noticed several small casinos tucked along the main shopping street. One of them had a handwritten sign saying they needed a senorita.

A few steps away, I noticed a series of posters honoring International Women’s Day. Each poster features a woman or girl, along with information about her disappearance or death. They all seem to date from the 70s or 80s.

One poster, for instance, explains that 13-year-old Nadia Fuentes Concha lost her life while crossing the street in crossfire from a military patrol.

Several countries in South America suffered under military dictatorships in the 1970s and 80s. It’s horrific to think about a government abducting and killing citizens, but that was the case.

Throughout South America you will see graffiti mentioning “abuelas de Mayo”(grandmothers of May), or simply “abuelas.”

These abuelas are women who protested after their family members were abducted during these dictatorships. Many were never seen again, but some mass graves were eventually found. The women would wear white headscarves and March together in public squares to protest.

Seeing graffitti depicting these brave women is how I first learned about “los desaparecidos” aka “the disappeared.”

Some other graffiti I saw in Arica: “todos tenemos sangre Mapuche, los pobres en las venas, y los ricos en los manos” which means, “Everyone has Mapuche blood, the poor in their veins and the rich on their hands.”

Another poster read: “Transfobia es colonial, Autonomia para los pueblos.” I’m not sure what they’re driving at with, “transphobia is colonial, autonomy for the towns.” Maybe saying that transphobia is a vestige of colonial belief systems? I dunno.

I’m really not sure about the last photo. I think the top poster is about violence towards women. Not sure why the woman has an anarchy symbol by her neck.

Then below it there’s something about how “Your feminism has too many theories and lacks all the murders, disappeared and locked up by this heterocis themes of shit and romance.”

I don’t claim to understand all this, but as I said, I like to keep an eye on graffiti to see another layer to the places we visit.Read more