Framed

This is “titty city” or at least that’s what my tour guide, 18-year-old ex-tagger, Juan Rocha told me.  The walls of the wash are coated in tags for almost a mile. They range from simple scrawled signatures to ornate 3-dimensional style, neon masterpieces. Zombies, ghosts, flowers are all woven into the chaotic motif.The floor of the wash is littered with spray paint cans and the occasional shattered bottle. 

Every nook and cranny of the wash was touched by paint. One drainage outlet became the final resting place for what appeared to be a Chihuahua at one point in its existence. 

In the more accessible areas, mismatching tan and grey blocks obscured the splashes of color, but taggers marked the majority of the real estate.

©Mariana Dale 2012