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Peruvian graffiti as a tool of war and peace
Darja Markusevska
BA Latin American Studies with Human Rights
Centre for the Interdisciplinary Studies (ISC)
Supervised by Dr Lisa Blackmore
14th of May 2020
University ID: 1604592
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express sincere gratitude to those who supported me during the last three years
of my research project.
Firstly, a thank you to Dr Jane Hindley, who was providing support and invaluable advices throughout
the dissertation process. The dissertation module classes headed by Jane helped me immeasurably to
structure the project and changed my understanding of a writing process.
Secondly, a thank you to Dr Lisa Blackmore for her encouragement, experience and feedbacks on my
drafts. Lisa as my personal tutor provided me with invaluable assistance and ideas about the Latin
American society, especially its visual culture that I otherwise would have underestimated.
Lastly, I would like to thank the people from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), my
host University of the year abroad, who have provided me with countless helpful insights about the
conflict, art and Peruvian sociological aspects. I would also like to thank my family who have
supported me throughout the studies.
Thank you to all.
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Preface
I studied abroad at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), a central academic
institution that was contributed to the investigation of Peruvian armed conflict. Moreover, academic
staff of the University was engaged at the work of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) that
reported on the human rights abuses aiming to stop the conflict. By the time of my arrival to Lima,
there were thematic events happening on campus related to the fifteen- year anniversary since the
CVR’s Final Report was made. I realized that the discourse of the internal conflict in Peru is not
exhaustive and that the most of interpretations are subjective, what undoubtedly encouraged me to
investigate more on this topic.
My driving emotion in this research was mostly curiosity and empathy towards victims of recent
events. Hence, it has been difficult to drop my ethical response to the conflict and I patiently started
my own interpretation of Peruvian history. I had little knowledge as about the conflict as about its
social effect before the beginning of my research. And I decided to make an emphasis on a correlation
between arts and war, what fascinated me the most for many years. I believe that artists have an
impact on every aspect of social life, even though I was not aware of arts in Peru.
The culture of Latin America and especially its bright street life inspired me to conduct my project on
public art and its claim- making. Later investigations led me to the more specific intersectional field of
street art as the most authentic form of cultural expression in Latin America. Since the start of a
project I have believed in impact of arts on daily life. And now I am even more concerned and
thoughtful about the power of every artistic expression. And this project is my contribution to art
producers.
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Contents
Acknowledgemnts.................................................................................................................2
Preface……………………………………………………………………………………...3
List of figures .......................................................................................................................5
List of abbreviations..............................................................................................................6
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...7
1.1 Background…………………………………………………………………...7
1.2 Methodology…………………………………………………………………9
1.3 Research Questions………………………………………………………….10
1.4 The role of street art in Latin America…………………...………………….11
2. Visual features of Peruvian street art ……………………….………………………13
2.1 The role of cultural engagement in a conflict/ art in between………...………....19
3. Dynamics of street art’s functionality in Peru……………….………………………22
3.1 War: propaganda and protest art…………………………………………….23
3.2 Transition: a sympathetic awareness...............................................................26
3.3 Aftermath: the alternative truth- telling art………………………………….29
4 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………….35
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….37
List of Appendices
Appendix A: Glossary of terms and Spanish idiomatic expressions
Appendix B: Registered terrorist actions, 2008 - 2018
Appendix C: Households accessing the internet service
Figure 1 A Map of Art’s Benefits
Figure 2 “Hope” by @Elliot Tupac
Figure 3 “He Used to Dream” by @Elliot Tupac
Figure 4 “Túpac Amaru” by @HUANSII
Figure 5 Coverage of murals located in the historic
centre of Lima with yellow paint
Figure 6 Resistance by @MEKILU
Figure 7 @Paulo_Sierrah, Lima
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Figure 8 “Scar” by @Decertor
Figure 9 “Search” by @Decertor
Figure 10 Mural by Leonardo Fernandez Olfer Vladimir
Figure 11 Mural newspaper, Puno 1989
Figure 12 Propaganda
Figure 13 Messages by PCP-SL
Figure 14 Viva la lucha armada
Figure 15 Destruction of PCP-SL’s murals
Figure 16 El Museo de la Memoria de ANFASEP
Figure 17 Amnesty for Abimael Guzman
Figure 18 @Sef.01
Figure 19 @HUANSII’ identity
Figure 20 We are Todos by @Decertor
Figure 21 New generation by @Decertor
Figure 22 @Decertor
Figure 23 Hoy soy libre, mañana también by Elliot Tupac
*List of figures
List of abbreviations
ANFASEP Asociación Nacional de Familiares de Secuestrados, Detenidos y
Desaparecidos del Perú/
National Association of Relatives of the Kidnapped, Detained, and Disappeared of Peru
CVR: Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación/
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
LUM: Lugar de la Memoria, la Tolerancia y la Inclusión Social/
Place of Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion
MRTA: Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru/
The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
PCP-SL: Partido Comunista del Perú – Sendero Luminoso/
The Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path
PUCP Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú/
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
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RAND Research and Development
Corporation
UN: The United Nations
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Post-mortem justice in a country that offers little justice for the living
- Cynthia E. Milton, 2015:1
The discussion of arts in the time or aftermath of a conflict is often underestimated instead of
development of a broad and interdisciplinary approach to the account of peace and security. Whilst
various sources report on efficient actions in terms of politics or legal regimes, this dissertation will
focus on artistic visual expressions of tragic past as means of communication for socially oppressed
and marginalized. The research below will cover entirely the ways of cultural engagement in a conflict
resolution, arguing for the general importance of each interpretation of a problem, while the ideology
imposed by state – fulfilled recovery and flourishing democracy–is foreign for the most of Peruvians
affected by the armed conflict.
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Setting the scene, the conflict in Peru started on 17th of May 1980 and after severe twenty years of
terror and violence has terminated by August of 2003 with a Final Report of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (CVR). The Commission estimated the armed group Shining Path (PCP
-SL or Sendero Luminoso) as the main perpetrators of violence leaving other actors of a conflict – The
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), armed forces and authoritarian governments of
Fernando Belaunde, Alan García and Alberto Fujimori - significantly behind the international censure.
However, due to the Peruvian multiculturality and linguistic diversity, there is no coherent narrative of
occurred events; that is to say, for some the period of ‘dirty war’ (1980 – 2000) was a price paid for
the newly constructed democracy, for others it will always remain a subsequent defence of civilians in
a response of a political betrayal based on social inequality. (Cynthia E. Milton 2014).
According to the findings of CVR in the Final Report (2003), the civil war in Peru has taken sixty-
nine thousand registered lives forsaking forty thousand children as orphans and twenty thousand
women as widows. Plus, more than six hundred thousand has left their previous habitants escaping of
imminent danger becoming internal refugees in places that until nowadays remain hostile to their
traditional way of life. The trauma is recent and tensions of the unresolved are ongoing. People are
still suffering of racism, social exclusion and misunderstanding, while the contemporary government
of Peru continues to resist the truth over the meaning of violence and ferocity of their predecessors.
(Víctor Vich; 2015: 11) To provide the evidence to these words, in 2012 newly elected president
Ollanta Humana proposed a law that obviously denied any opposite opinion to one estimated in Final
Report of Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
However, if the official version allows number of memories stayed unchecked or even intentionally
forgotten, this work manifests the view that, in general, simply by virtue of portraying personal trauma
in different and mostly unusual manner can be said to work revolutionary for the conflict
management. ‘Success is hard to achieve, and more than military skills are required’ (Marrack
Goulding; 1993) or, referencing Doyle & Sambanis (2000), there is a need for alternative assumptions
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in regards of peace strategies that would apply to the ‘local roots of hostility and the local capacities
for change’.
This paper tries to reconsider Peruvian past and further the discussion on a theme of conflict
resolution through the art’s perspective. Existing scholarly works agrees that artistic expression is an
instrument of knowledge working on symbolic interconnection. The aim of my research is to examine
the applicability of visual expression to the peace- building campaigns, especially how the street art
that operates outside the framework of state- based position and, despite of possible challenges and
limitations, provides socio- political change. I believe that street art is a kaleidoscope of versions and
street artist offers each viewer a slightly different perspective based on his own experience and state of
mind. And the following chapters will provide an evidence to the efficacy of liberal and provocative
street art in diverse social settings.
1.2 Methodology
This research project will focus on the role of Peruvian contemporary street artists on
prevention of human rights violations from 1980 to 2000 and its aftermath. Due to the shortage of
primary sources on one of the illegal and usually anonymous forms of artistic expression, the study
will largely rely on thematically related secondary sources. Trauma is quite recent; violence had a
great impact on social culture. So, now, in Peru there is an opportunity to find a range of materials
concerning the footprints of a conflict. And to answer to the main research question I will appeal to
the documentary research in Place of Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion (LUM) that was opened
for public visit just in December 2015.
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Then with a help of newspaper articles and official reports were explored main historical events of
Peru since 1980’s - governmental coups, huge massacres and fundamental pathways to the conflict’s
conclusion –, but most of them seemed incomplete for a fuller understanding of cultural and social
processes in a country. This fact led me to the thought that the tragedy and the subsequent pain cannot
be expressed in level of verbal signs but should be transmitted to more emotional or sensational form-
through arts. However, the research in LUM showed a huge lack of attention paid to the role of art in
discussion of Peruvian social reconstruction, reconciliation and resolution of disputes.
Initially, I decided to do only theoretical research based on analysis of academic papers, reports,
articles and different media resources that I was collecting over the year in Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru. Then appeared another challenge of a project: the absence of a unique version
regarding the war and its consequences. And it has produced a necessity to include expert interviews
to detect the real social impact of the violence and the interactions of visual culture with the public.
These interviews were held with Jorge Lossio Chávez, a professor from PUCP that specialises in the
contemporary history of Peru, and with a coordinator of a centre of investigation and coordination of
LUM, María Elena Príncipe, who made an introduction to the social and cultural aspects of a conflict.
The influence of interviews was unmeasurable driving interest to the whole context of artistic language that
could dominate over formal expression in regards of a violence. Then I used an observational or
ethnographic research of Lima’s murals, Instagram accounts of local Peruvian street artists and visited
thematical exhibitions held by department of arts in PUCP. So, my project became enriched with
incorporation of diverse artworks dedicated to the themes of insurgence, indigenous community,
racism and social exclusion.
The findings of this research will be presented below in several sections. And the purpose of the next
chapter is a setting of an argument that cultural engagement in a conflict is an inseverable part of a
nation’s cooperation and further establishment of a democracy. The following part of an argument will
cover several urban artworks based on ideology of protest and introduce the diversity of street artists
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that work with theme of social and political commentary. The last chapter (third) is split into three
parts, each of which will provide an observation of different time periods in history of contemporary
Peru - wartime, period of transition and the aftermath- and will set the role of graffiti in them. These
sub- subchapters will assess the importance, applicability and actuality of street art at the time of a
conflict and peace negotiations. The last of them, introducing the aftermath of a violence, will
examine the contemporary development of the field of urban art including a summary of existing
works and suggestions for further research.
I will try to make an argument that would show the need for an interdisciplinary approach, especially
in regards of such emotional issues as human rights violations and civil war.
1.3 Research Questions
What is the role of street art in Peru: self- identification, protest or an alternative truth- telling?
Does street art relate to the internal dynamics of social movements in Peru?
What stories and memories emerged from the produced images? Is it a cultural response to the
atrocities of the past?
1.4 The role of street art in Latin America
Whilst plenty has been written of protest or social art, its sub- movement, street art, has not
been covered in such depth. And it is unclear, taking in mind its independent and participatory nature
of expression. Street art as its stylistic ‘forefathers’, tries to solve and recognize a specific social
problem using art to express a concrete position that can be opposite to the state- produced, and with a
help of abstract interpretations, which do not require background, make “a triumph of the word over
the silence of absence”. (Jelin and Longoni 2005: xvii-xviii)
The work of Chafee (1993), Political Protest and Street Art: Popular Tools for Democratization in
Hispanic Countries, gives a profound understanding of a street art’s communication model, namely
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the system of ‘encoding- decoding’ (Stuart Hall 1973), which is based on encryption of messages that
are close and understandable as for the sender (artist) as for receiver (audience) regardless specific
skills and knowledge. Chafee also provide a social and historical context of a region arguing for the
concept of the progressive conflict in Latin America. And it is a common idea with much of the
literature about the region. Experts of Latin America, giving a social setting of a place, insist on the
lack of a dialogue or ‘excommunication’ (Armand Mattelart 2006) between the government and the
nation, especially in regards of an attitude towards indigenous people that are suffering of unrealised
potential since the Conquest (Spalding 2016).
Thus, street art due to its availability and visibility, presents by itself the democratic model contesting
the totalizing vision. And if the work of Chafee was an introduction for the discussion of social art,
recent study of Holly Eva Ryan (2017), Political Street Art: Communication, Culture and Resistance
in Latin America, detects the directory trace of Latin American street art. Her study in- depth explores
the role of art in political protest and claim – making across the region. She believes in a talk with a
public in order to provide the necessary evidence of atrocities of the past or the opportunity to rethink
and remark inefficiency of previous order. This idea of co- creation or a dialogue is also examined in a
work of Caru and Cova (2007) about the experiences and ways of person’s connection to the work of
art. According to their study, symbolic importance of an experience produced through artistic
expression is “a vessel for civic pride”.
Themes of street art can vary from destruction, indifference, loss, racism and suffering to mobilization
of power and propaganda of a revenge. I do not wish to argue that we can always trust art and believe
on its authenticity and accuracy: artwork is simply form of imagination based on personal experiences
and memory. But what is undoubtable is that art is always a myriad way of seeing, knowing and
relating one problem that could unite all. Moreover, the great ability of art is to provoke a reflection.
Referencing the Brown model 2007 (Figure 1) adapted from RAND Corporation study 2004 on the
intrinsic value of arts, the benefits from the arts experience have psychological, experiential and
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symbolical nature producing inner satisfaction, sense of freedom, emotional involvement and even
self- identification.
1Figure 1
Thus, arts is an experience and at the same time a research with usually unknown benefits for the
viewer: “[m]uch of the ultimate value of research comes from unintended outcomes providing
answers to questions that were never posed and raising questions that no one knew to ask”. (Brown;
2007: 18) So, we came to the notion that art is a power. But what level of power has a street art or
graffiti?
2. Visual Features of Peruvian Street Art
Street art as any other form of artistic expression has its own particular stylistic features
besides two main divisions on textual and graphic. And, even though, each artist has own noticeable
style, the discourse of their artworks pertains to the general cluster of characteristics, which
determines their affiliation to the group of urban art.
Symbolism
1 Brown, A. (2007), An Architecture of Value, 2
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Graffiti are short effective messages or commentaries that emerge on daily urban scene as a symbolic
and metaphorical structure. And talking about its semantic analysis, street art usually appeals to the
methodology of “monosemy”, in other words, it means what it says (Campana, C. D. 2005:5). But the
decoding of meanings requires certain linguistic and historical knowledge, limiting their impact on the
universal level. For example, the work “Esperanza” (Hope) by @Ellit_Tupac, famous Peruvian street
artist, (Fig. 2) could be understood only by those who speak Spanish. And acquires special meaning, if
think of Latin America as a ‘continent of hope’2. (Pablo Neruda)
3 4
Fig. 2 Hope Fig. 3 He Used to Dream
Or another his mural, “Antes Soñaba” (Fig. 3) that requires not only linguistic skills, but also
knowledge of Peruvian history. Otherwise, observer will pass by the image and will never know that
the figure depicted in the centre of graffiti is Abimael Guzman, the leader of the PCP- SL, and the
phrase that literally translates as "he used to dream" refers to his fundamental idea, “Gonzalo
Thought”, of proletarian revolution, which was never performed.
2 Neruda, P. Memoirs, ch. 11
3 Elliot Tupac https://www.flickr.com/photos/elliotupac/9794711766
4 Elliot Tupachttps://elcomercio.pe/especial/cusquena/historiaspremium/elliot-tupac-artista-mas-alla-carteles-chicha-
video-noticia-1991973
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Fig. 4 Túpac Amaru
No doubt, the image, whose character is polysemic, is more likely to be understandable by a wider
audience. However, the strategy of some urban artists is related to the reaction of specific social
group. The evidence of this argument is found in the drawings of Peruvian street artist @huansii
(Fig.4). The artist selects specific historical figures as heroes of his works, such as Tupac Amaru, for
example, that bear symbolic significance exclusively on a local scale.
In the eyes of @huansii, as mentioned in his Instagram’s caption to the work, crucifix of Tupac
Amaru, the last Sapa Inca, and at the same time one of the most important persons in Latin American
history, manifests by itself the eternity of colonialism, especially concerning the modern oppression of
indigenous people. Turning to the iconography, in Andean mythology Amaru is an animated essence
capable of transgressing boundaries of the spiritual realm (Smith 2011). And, in regards of this
meaning, the image of @huansii could be perceived as a tribute to the MRTA with their homage to the
name of Tupac Amaru or even to the past glory of indigenous people in rebellion of 18th century,
which in both manners has fundamentally opposite or even radical direction to the modern state-led
ideology of westernization. In this context, graffiti recalls old cultural traditions, as well as the
ideological alienation and marginalization of the performers to the state.
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Alienation
The extent in which the street art engages in coercive mobilization of marginalized ideas is
widely debated. For some urbanists graffiti declare of ‘urban decay’ (Gibbons 2004), for others, in
parallel, the street art has a heroic character, because these "writings" criticize the forms of immorality
in society (Campana C. 2005)
In order to understand the attitudes towards graffiti in Lima, I will give a statement of Peruvian
Minister of Culture, Diana Álvarez:
“Murals are born as a kind of art that comes from the street, and as a consequence it is not an art that
is made to last, that is what I understand. It’s a marginal art, graffiti, that allows certain individuals
to express themselves through a wall.”
However, it is also true that Peruvian authorities do not have one common opinion in regards of street
art. The administration led by socialist Susana Villaran in 2014 promoted art festivals, specifically
designed for a dialogue with Latin American street artists. The next Mayor of Lima decided that
murals have the political objective of seeking an apology and amnesty for leaders of Shining Path, the
radical guerrilla group involved in armed struggle in the country for many years. So, later, in protest,
most graffiti on social or political themes around the historical centre of Lima were covered with
yellow paint. (Fig. 5)
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5Andina. pe https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-en-madrugada-se-borraron-murales-del-cercado-lima-547292.aspx
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Fig. 5 Coverage of murals located in the historic centre of Lima with yellow paint
Graffiteros callejeros (street artists) were indignant and responded that if authorities erase one mural,
they will paint a thousand6. Street art is a collection of certain memories and opinions, therefore, the
destruction of even one work, will produce dozens of images from others, in contrary to state’s
position. Street artists perceive the destruction as a derivation of their right of free expression. They
believe that in a truly democratic country government appreciates the pluralism, but the reality of
government’s attitude towards any non- conformist political or social commentaries proves the
opposite. What is fundamental for artists is that ideas stay alive and are meant to last.
The work of Peruvian street artist @mekilu, Resistance (Fig.6), has a symbolic meaning for his
colleagues. This graffiti is a tribute for artists who struggle of censorship and marginalization. The
direct objective of his graffiti is to criticize the manipulation techniques of authorities that, in his
opinion, separate the nation and increase the conflict between the government and the audience.
Fig.6 Resistance
Graffiti works for empathy, awareness and publicity. And in this sense, murals “break out the
marginalisation and censorship, building solidarity and collective pride, mobilising support from
6 “Borraron uno, pintaremos mil” https://gestion.pe/especial/zonalounge/arte-y-diseno/fotos-arte-urbano-lima-conozca-
sus-obras-emblematicas-noticia-1994643
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others beyond the immediate group and standing as a popular, non- elitist and eye-catching symbol of
the group and its aspirations”. 7
Social scenarios
An objective consideration of Peruvian cities street art reflects the uniqueness of direct
relationship effect of the country’s social context on artists. The graffiti artist expresses the identity of
a social class establishing the real convergence with an audience. (González 2005: 81) With the help
of various techniques, both textual and graphic, images become familiar to citizens that meet wall
paintings throughout on a daily basis. An analysis of academic literature on street art presumes a
specific term “teatro callejero”, which literally translates as a street theatre, and relates to the
performance that is happening when the work of art starts its own life on walls of a city.
Street art loses its meaning without interaction with the public and space. In words of Camen C.
(2005:28), "When the newspapers are silent, the walls speak (…) the day is in the light and a"
brushstroke "is an anonymous growl in the darkness and disorder of the night." For instance, the artist
@Paulo_Sierrah (Fig. 7) in his Instagram account usually mentions the importance of the public
reflecting on his works, because they are the target audience for which he creates. For him it is of high
importance that crowd intertwine with an image and space.
7 Rolston and Alvarez Berastegi. 2015: 5
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Fig. 7 @Paulo_Sierrah, Lima
Emotions and purposefulness
Aim of Peruvian street art as probably any other method of artistic expression is an appellation
to the emotions and feelings of the observer. Street artists in Peru are commonly called as “escritores
de paredes” (wall writers) or “pintores de la noche” (painters of the night), not paid specialists or
visual professionals , rather spontaneous and thought- provoking artists, who think that texts or
graphics on the wall are the best way to express their opinion. They work under their own ethical code
(Camen 2005:27) and each graffiti artist accepts it, recognizing the quality of what has already been
painted. In this way, their paintings are perceived as fight with uncertainty, injustice and indifference,
which they always win. Graffiti is their personal vision of freedom and self- determination.
Through the “conquest of public walls" street artists in Peru show that the power of expression is the
only solution to the possible social conflict that comes from the unilateral position of a state. Graffiti
respond to the human needs, and if social goals changes, themes and styles of expression modify to
specific events, as well.
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Fig. 8 “Scar” by @Decertor Fig. 9 “Search” by @Decertor
There are number of painters that work with the theme of trauma and violations; without censorship
and supervision, they tell the stories from their own perspective. For example, the work “Scar” (Fig.
8) by the well- known Peruvian street artist, @Decertor, who depicted human body with a scar carved
on his chest, narrating of the time period of armed conflict in Peru (1980- 2000), in remembrance of
victims of the civil war that will always remain in memory of those who stayed alive.
Or another his mural, “Búsquedas” (search; Fig. 9) that is dedicated to the people who are searching
for their missing (desaparecidos) beloved ones. In spite of the end of the civil war and the fact that the
government biases and imposes its own perspective of history (turning a blind eye on huge massacres
and detention camps), artists insists: para que se no repita (so that does not repeat). And in order to in-
depth examine the impact of street artists in “memory battles” (Milton C. E. 2014), next chapter
(third) is fully devoted to the role of street art in terms of an armed conflict in Peru.
2.1 The role of cultural engagement in a Peruvian conflict/ art in between
Is it possible to create a code of visual meaning that could be understood by
everyone?
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Horacio Zabala
Seventeen Questions Regarding Art (1972)
Scholars on conflict resolution confirm that there are two paths for groups engaged in a
process of peace building: the position of observer/ analyst or the activist/ intermediary. However,
what is true for all is that everyone aspires to the same human needs and try to get them satisfied.
(Burton 1990) The universal issue is how people confront the problem, or, in other words, which
social, political or cultural tools do they use to change the previous order. And if hitherto culturally
based approach was often dismissed by journalists, politicians and academics, this chapter will discuss
the conflict transformation in terms of “soft power” (Nye 2004). The following examination of
reconciliation technique is presented in gradual changes with an incorporation of different social
movements that “struggle to visually express the spirit of the time”8.
Peru is an example of the complex, stratified and neo- colonial system, where changes are happening
only with internal reorganization built over a long period of time. (Spalding 2016) Since the colonial
period regions of sierra (Andean highlands) and selva (Amazonian jungle) were suffering of poverty,
inequality and isolation what was a product of dominance imposed by geographically opposite and
socially dominant authorities from costa (coastal region - Lima). Social movements confronting with
sovereign power of metropolis -Lima - and social struggles for self- determination of indigenous
communities are not the new topics in Peruvian history, rather the repetitive feature of social and
political context of a state.
“Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under
self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the
past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And
just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that
8 Cotton. 1998: 23
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did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the
spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order
to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language.” 9(Karl
Marx 1852)
10 Fig. 10 Mural by Leonardo Fernandez Olfer Vladimir
So, taking in mind the repetitive context of the Peruvian narrative, this project is centred not around
the issue of when did the processes begin, rather what was [is] the instrument of social changes to
overcome the previous order. Referring human rights publications and authors writing on conflict
resolution (Bercovitsch & Jackson 2009; Glasius 2009; Goulding 1993), the transformation is a
cooperative effort and it is formed precisely thanks to active public figures, rather than only by virtue
of reforms and laws from above.
Thus, muralism or street art determined not by the "hombres importantes"(authorities), but by the
representatives of society nurtured by the street11, states new cultural identity that is based on
solidarity and liberty. Identity in terms of newly established state that strives hard to the real
democracy through the change of relationships with war and extreme violence.
The daily practice of interconnection of street artists with their social setting produces the cultural
response or “voice of the audience” 12in the most accessible, visible and intrinsic manner for
9 Marx K. 1852. The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte: 1
10 http://www.blogcyh.com/2015/03/gestion-villaran-pago-proterroristas-de.html
11 “Nuestra escuela ha sido la calle”, Conrad. https://gestion.pe/especial/zonalounge/arte-y-diseno/fotos-arte-urbano-lima-
conozca-sus-obras-emblematicas-noticia-1994643
12 Ryan H. E. 2017
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Peruvians. Street artists being in eternal search of social balance intervene the space and start the
dialogue– multiple decoding- with those affected by the crisis (González 2005: 81).
The visual features of Peruvian urban art, listed above, demonstrate that “graffiteros” do not follow
unique perspective and their ideologies vary, even though they have similar social background. Each
of them constructs the image in his own vision and themes differs, as well. Contemplating the topic,
street art could be perceived as espacio libre (free space) with highly liberal norms of performance.
Their images do not convince the veracity of the author, they just in peaceful manner show the
opinion. And the search of meaning beyond the visuals (or not) is a personal choice of the observer.
In general words, it is a culture of peace.
Being strongly protected from the horrors of violence, modern Lima became a center of reproduction
of memory for the rest of a country. It articulates a mosaic of artistic sub-entities that respond to
different origins and functions that overlap and juxtapose each other, forming an organic framework
for reflection on mistakes of previous order. And, in view of the fact that Lima is primarily a capital
with a multimillion population, contemporary street artists have an opportunity to transform the way
of public consciences.
3. Dynamics of street art’s functionality in Peru
Social conflict is fluid, what means it is transforming over a time. The tragic events that were
happening across Peru during the period of 1980- 2000 are not exclusive to that rule. Kriesberg (2013)
in his work concerning the phenomenon of conflict transformation argues of long-term time
perspectives in undertaking and continuing conflict transformation efforts.13 So, taking in mind the
scale of Peruvian case, the narrative of a conflict is complex and the construction of one coherent
memory that would be collectively accepted is a challenge for the post -conflict generation of Peru
that wish to build a democratic society.
13 Kriesberg, L.2013: 50
24
Tragedy revealed dozens of images portraying diverse forms of inhuman cruel acts rejecting in that
way the unity among the nation on social and political levels. In order to oppose, Peruvians perform a
variety of expression forms: song-writing, photography and visual arts created a patchwork of
memories. Even though, those stories could contradict to each other, they still pertain to the common
cultural ground. (Vich 2015; Milton 2014) This cultural practice manifests the pluralistic approach and
mobilises the audience to participate in story- telling:
“When spectators look at an image, the message is right there in its completeness. It might
take a second or two for spectators to recognise what they see, but the message of the image is
indivisible. Whereas in the case of spoken rhetoric, the message of the argument can be cut up into
sub-claims, sentences, and finally words as the smallest units of the message… the image although
also divisible in a sense … is received by spectators all at once. Viewers cannot walk away and
escape; their involuntary reactions are triggered…” 14
This chapter will examine the functionality of only one way of cultural expression – the street art.
Gradually moving through the regions and social settings of Peru, I will show the interaction of
graffiti with the mass culture. Starting with anonymous escritores de paredes that worked since 1980’s
in protest of state’s ideology and finishing the analysis with highly competent professionals of street
art, this work will try to demonstrate the impact of their performance on different stages of conflict
transformation.
3.1 War: propaganda and protest art
Violence is giving this society a huge quantity of images. The function of art is to
create images in opposition to these images.
Doris Salcedo
14 Kopper. 2014: 451
25
For centuries Peru persisted of discrimination in ethnic, social and cultural terms
and struggled of great social and economic differences between coastal region including Lima and the
other part of a state: Andean highlands and the Amazonian jungle. The gap between regions was
mostly aggravated by the lack of communication due to diversity of languages and a lack of awareness
by the State to protect the rights of the poorest or most excluded populations. Thereby, intensified the
indifference and intolerance among the nation and the long- lasting historical tensions led to the
conflict, which showed that traditionally excluded groups of indigenous people were the most
vulnerable.
15 Fig.11 Mural newspaper, Puno 1989
Murals historically were a form of communication for southern regions (Fig. 11). Due to the lack of
other possibilities of connection to the rest of Peru, soon after the beginning of a conflict the leftist
radicals of PCP-SL seized the moment of antagonism between indigenous population and the Peruvian
state; and murals soon become coercive tools for mobilization of peasant movements. The
“fundamentalist” ideology of Shining Path insisted on propaganda. So, in a while, larger-than-human
size manifestations or, in modern terms, textual graffiti (Fig. 12) became a kind of political
communication affirming the symbol of a pride. Messages left on the urban surfaces proclaimed an
15 Fairey, T. http://tiffanyfairey.co.uk/tafos
26
idea of in-group strategy: no one other than Party members were familiarized with a meaning of the
message.
Fig. 12 Propaganda
Using the traditional values of Andean radicalism (Willis D. 2018) and local histories, “senderistas”
(followers of Shining Path movement) started to recruit the Maoist ideas of proletarian revolution and
“clearance” of old society through the “messages” on the walls. (Fig. 13)
16
Fig. 13 Messages by PCP-SL
16 https://peru.com/actualidad/mi-ciudad/asi-era-san-marcos-tomada-sendero-luminoso-y-mrta-anos-80-fotos-noticia-
104409
27
These messages appealed to the glory of peasants and declared of a battle for justice. The walls of
universities, public and private buildings were painted by propagandists that desired to construct new
“ideal” society. Propaganda was a powerful advertisement of “ideal” world, if possible, the world of
the future, where reigns the harmony and equality. However, in a reality it was just another form of a
control that carried with conviction in one authoritarian thought of a leader, “Gonzalo Thought” and
had a pedagogical perspective promoting the approach of "a must be".
Texts on walls (Fig. 14) intended for the indigenous community were the coercive inducements of
Shining Path to create an army that could withstand the sovereign power of Lima. Thereby, in that
period of a conflict graffiti were tools of war. In words of ex- senderista Zenón Walter Vargas
Cárdenas (2010): politics is a long struggle of social classes for power. In this struggle, various
weapons are used and one of them are visuals.
17
Fig. 14 Viva la lucha armada
But murals, depicting leaders of social revolution or agitation in opposition of authoritarian rule, were
short- living, becoming faded or even more often coloured. (Fig. 15) Within a time in order to capture
the moment, photography and video-recordings were undertaken with these murals. TAFOS was a
pioneering ‘social photography’ project that ran from 1986-1988 and involved about two hundred
photographers all over the country. During twelve years of terror and cruelty they were capturing vital
17 Fairrey, T. http://tiffanyfairey.co.uk/tafos
28
testimonies and insights of the social movement at that time. Social movements do not just contest and
politicise culture they create it too’. (Holly Eva Ryan; 2017: 1) And it was a culture of pride and
rebellion
Fig. 15 Destruction of PCP-SL’s murals
However, the more and more rare appearance of graffiti influenced the radical movement, the conflict
had already begun to unfold in a different way focusing mostly on actions than words. State forces
erased inscriptions, rationalizing the Peruvian culture to the deduced ideology of military heroism.
Leftist movements – MRTA and PCP-SL – were proclaimed as terroristic, and shabby controversial
texts on the walls became shades of the past confirming a decline in the vitality or political
commitment of social movements. (Rolston and Alvarez Berastegi; 2015)
3.2 Transition: a sympathetic awareness
Art begins when tranquillity ends. I favour any restless
art over that which puts us to sleep.
César Moro
Since the beginning of an armed conflict in Peru, arts were gradually incorporating in the field
of peace building. Their initiatives were mainly centred around the themes of justice and meditation.
29
(Vich, V. 2015; Milton, C. 2014). Different social activists were acting in terms of negotiators and
tried to force the reformation of previous order to forge new options that are attractive to weary and
mistrustful antagonists and make those options seem attainable. (Kriesberg, L. 2013:56)
However, situation was challenged by absence of one common enemy. Social movements still were
pursuing personal interests forgetting that they stand together against the violence. And whilst it was
not accepted, Peru was situated in a period of transition: from destructive to constructive contention.
Peru consisted of different social and cultural groups rejecting the unity. Social movements were both
consumers of existing cultural meanings and producers of new meaning. (Benford and Snow 2000, p.
629). So, the problem of the period of transition was that dynamic organization of diverse social
movements that expressed their opinions in a manner understandable and applicable only for their
“gangs” and “tribes”.
The good example of this kind of “tribe” may be the ANFASEP, National Association of Relatives of
the Kidnapped, Detained, and Disappeared of Peru, an emblematic social movement that worked
outside the state- led framework and demanded for truth, justice and reparations. And despite the fact
that during the first period of war the agency of ANFASEP had highly opposing position towards
nation state staying in coalition with military leftist movements Shining Path, now this non-
governmental organization took an important role in peacebuilding, providing new ideas and options
for creation of cooperative relations among the victims of violence. Their slogan was: “Para que no se
repita” or “So it doesn't happen again", and their messages are direct: against the dictatorship, against
the repression, against the disappearances. If we look the mural of the facade of memory museum of
ANFASEP in Ayacucho (Fig. 16), it depicts all the atrocities and violations that the conflict brought to
the Peruvian nation. The wall of the museum may provoke emotions even from ones that have never
directly experienced such events.
30
Fig. 16 El Museo de la Memoria de ANFASEP 18
conflict. Arts offers a powerful means for recounting the past and for reaching a kind of
understanding19.
Due to the high level of violence and persisting censorship, until the Agreement between antagonists
of the armed conflict, artists were mainly working anonymously and under the supervision. During the
most severe years of terror, the creation of art was comparable with heroic act of resistance. Achieving
an impact, social activists were trying to work in groups as it was the only possible and effective way
to increase the awareness of violations in terms of censorship. Joint efforts helped to restore the
memories and make them public. And then, in the investigation of CVR, “visual representation played
a central role in recounting a national narrative”. 20 The appearance the Commission allowed to speak
more openly about the past.
However, returning to theme of street art, it was still supervised by activists from the side of the
radicals as MRTA and Shining Path or the State. The “graffiteros” needed to rally and go against their
personal interests for the sake of truth and peace. Or in words of peacekeeping and peacebuilding
scholars, graduated reciprocation in tension-reduction (GRIT; Osgood 1962). Thus, the main means
for contesting local abuses in that period was in arms of other form of social art: photography like
Yuyanaq, comics or graphic novels like Rupay: Historias de la violencia política en Perú 1980- 1984
(Stories of political violence in Peru 1980- 1984), protest song- writing and performance art. In
increasingly public ways, and despite the fear of being persecuted, Peruvians were telling their stories
and testimonies of violence in very different innovative manners. As Cynthia Milton says in her
18 http://anfasep.org.pe/archivos/museoanfasep.html
19 Milton, C. 2014: 2
20 Milton, C. 2014: 14
31
emblematic project “Art from the Fractured Past. Memory and Truth- telling in Post- Shining Path
Peru” (2014) on role of art:
In Latin America, one of the intended aims of art in response to atrocity seem to be this: to contest the
barbarity committed and to restore the humanity of citizens who have been harmed.21
After submitting the long-awaited “informe” (Final Report) of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, which contains evidence of 16,985 people affected by the conflict, it was expected that it
would be distributed among the nation and would help Peruvians understand better the period of
internal violence, and, from that, to seek the balance in future. However, this did not happen, and the
history of Peru remained contested.
3.3 Aftermath: the alternative truth- telling art
At the moment that it is created, art has no effect. But later, when the newspapers have
stopped reporting on certain things and most people have forgotten them, art still
exists as a sort of a permanent accusation. That is its power.
Fernando Botero, 2006
The armed conflict ended in Peru in 2000, however, if you ask the Peruvians now about their
political and social structure, it will become clear that long- lasting tensions stay unresolved. And
country is still struggling of terroristic acts (Appendix B), happening in already mentioned provincial
regions as if reminding of the recent tragedy. Attaining peace minimally means an end to violent
fighting, but it may also entail foregoing claims for justice: punishment for perpetrators of atrocities,
compensation for past abuses, and the establishment of relations marked by equality and dignity.
(Kriesberg, L. 2013:56).
21 Milton, C. 2014: 2
32
The existence of the CVR should have prevented the struggle of previous years. How it was
prescribed, their Final Report (2003) is a promising opportunity for change in Peru and the task of a
State and society is to comply with the recommendations of the Informe Final. These included
institutional reforms necessary to make the rule of law real and prevent violence, comprehensive
reparations for victims, and a National Plan for burial sites. In addition to these axes, there were some
additional ones, such as promotion of a scientific research on the issues of violence and detention and
open investigations against the alleged perpetrators of the crimes. By the sixteenth anniversary of the
Final Report, now is a moment to examine the direction in which State is going.
Well, in volume VIII of the Final Report of the CVR, called Los factores que hicieron possible la
violencia (the factors that made the violence possible) the internal armed conflict is explained in terms
of socio- economic conditions. It is indicating that rural areas with less economic resources were the
most affected and 75% of victims were Quechua speakers or had other native languages22. The issue is
whether the situation has been improved.
The facts of persisting discrimination on daily basis, confrontation over perpetrators of a conflict
(Fig.17) and existing ex-communication due to the non- availability of network (Appendix C) provide
the most obvious evidence that there is still a lack of consciousness of the State to protect the rights of
the most vulnerable and excluded populations. If you look at the regulations, it could be said that
there is a progress, but in practice it is not enough23.
22 CVR, Informe Final (2003). TOMO VIII, SEGUNDA PARTE: LOS FACTORES QUE HICIERON POSIBLE LA
VIOLENCIA: Capitulo 1: Explicando el conflicto armado interno
23 Reátegui, Féliz (Advisor of IDEHPUCP), “Si uno mira la normativa, podría decirse que sí hay un avance, pero en la
práctica no es suficiente.”
33
24
Fig. 17 Amnesty for Abimael Guzman
Thus, Peruvians started to look for answers on unresolved questions by themselves, not relying on
supervision of authorities. And modern graffiteros took part in the process of social transformation
manifesting different approaches with a help of space and power of the “word”. Art should not ne
necessarily aesthetic, the most valuable and lasting is the feature that it reflects the time. If artistic
expression is authentic, it will always be rebellious and thought- provoking. (Rolston, B. & Berastegi,
A. A. 2015)
Social movement of street artists in Lima tries to establish and formulate an identity connected to the
specific social context. They refer to the way of maintaining or creating alternative approach to the
problem of silence, discrimination and violence, drawn from the previous experiences of street art.
However, new murals do not act in a manner of complete opposition like ANFASEP did, for instance.
And do not transmit radical political commentaries as textual graffiti of PCP-SL, even though, they
still reveal on themes of history, justice, aspirations and social exclusion.
The good example of alternative truth- telling are artworks done by @Sef.01 (Fig. 18) that reject the
ideology of war, ironizing on army and weapons. This contemporary Peruvian artist refers to the
themes of pacifism and the approach of “soft power”. Thereby, through the images situated in public,
an artist seeks to fashion an enduring peaceful relationship that, in his opinion, may led to the new
social structure, where war is an anachronism.
24 BBC https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-45492500
34
Fig. 18 @Sef.01
The enduring issue of conflict transformation relates to the differences between negative peace and
positive peace. Negative peace refers to peaceful relations characterised only by the absence of direct
violence, while positive peace refers to relatively harmonious relations in a society (Kriesberg, L.
2013:55). Thereby, the later stage of a conflict is a construction of mutual understanding and trust
among the nation, which in turn is an issue of new identity that would manifest the solidarity,
tolerance and cooperation.
Peruvian artists @Decertor and @HUANSII, previuosly mentioned, works with the construction of
the new concept of Peruvian. The logic behind their graffiti is the idea that Peruvian culture is
complex and need a reformation in terms of relationships with race, ethnic and gender. Cope (1994:
5): “…ethic status is not fixed permanently at birth, by official fiat, but constitutes a social identity,
that may be affirmed, modified, manipulated, or perhaps even rejected – all in variety of contexts.”
@Decertor has even created a social campaign “We are TODOS” (Fig. 20) that stands for the equality
in regards of age, ethic, race and gender. While @HUANSII (Fig. 19) selects as an object for his work
exclusively persons of indigenous descent. His graffiti mainly contain elements of traditional culture:
archaeological artefacts of Inca or Moche Empire, tropical fruits, mythic animals and diverse
attributes of Chavin culture.
35
Fig. 19 @HUANSII’ identity Fig. 20 We are Todos by @Decertor
Moreover, these graffiti reject the persisting trend of "Nordomania" or the continuing claim of Latin
Americans to emulate Eurocentric ideals by discrediting and denying local traditions. Artists believe
that perspectives of ‘our’ reality developed through the appropriation of foreign concepts, are invalid
for further development. @Decertor and @HUANSII advocates for the reassessment of traditional
values. New identity is framed by local tradition and this tradition should be fashioned by artists,
writers, musicians and other social and cultural activists.
Through everyday practice of public attention and agitation from urban surfaces, street artists may
shed light on alternative “ways of knowing, being and doing”. Moreover, issues of spread of ideas are
facilitated by appearance of new technologies and social networks like Instagram or Facebook, where
street artists publicise their artworks and manifests their ideology on open and free level. It is well
depicted in the graffiti of @Decertor (Fig. 21), where the central figure is a little boy listening to the
heart that may be the allegory to the new generation of Peruvians that must not face the horror of the
past. And the aim of observer is to “protect” this balance of infantile kindness and freedom.
New street artists work through the symbols and metaphors to enrich the debate of social problems.
For example, another graffiti by @Decertor (Fig.22) that presents the figure of naked indigenous
36
woman surrounded by diverse natural forms. At the first glance, this is an abstract or even surreal
work; however, remembering the traditional Peruvian culture, everything becomes much clearer and
more informative. As it is named by the author “Crecimiento del ser” or Growth of Being, woman
may be perceived as Pachamama or Mother of Earth that gives birth to the new order. The plant in her
arms is a symbol of peace reconstruction process and fire next to the heart means the beginning.
Fig. 21 New generation by @Decertor Fig.22 @Decertor
With a triumph of the current "globalization" and modernity, they are not working anonymously as
their ‘ancestors’ in the field. (Campana, C. D. 2005:4) And the evidence to this statement is the graffiti
by Elliot Tupac (Fig. 23), that declares the new way of thinking: Today I am free, tomorrow, as well.
(Hoy soy libre, mañana también). As the years of dictatorship pass, spaces for protest gradually open,
not because the regime softens, but because the social boil reaches a critical point - evidence of
transformation, indicator of freedom of expression.
37
Fig. 23 Hoy soy libre, mañana también by Elliot Tupac
The way of development - constructive conflict transformation – proclaimed and implemented in daily
routine of urban residents by modern street artists is a complex and long- lasting process. However,
what is true, it is significantly culturally different approach than one deployed by previous social
movements. New generation of artists seeks to highlight the vital importance of human rights values
of freedom, equality and dignity, recovering the lessons from the destructive conflict and reducing its
underlying causes. In this framework, the wealth of communicative production produced within the
urban setting, favours a focus of study on the objectivity and applicability of graffiti as a construction
and manifestation of specific social culture. (Muñoz Sánchez 2005: 71)
38
4. Conclusions
Contrary to popular belief, the conflict is not finished or resolved by signing certain
agreements between the warring parties but has a long- term procedure of a complete transformation
to the new way of living and thinking. And despite progress, a major issue that confronts workers in
the field of conflict transformation is highly simple: manifestation of mutual respect and cooperation
among actors that would create forward- looking agreements, which in turn would reduce the amount
of hostility. The case study of “dirty war” in Peru provides a concrete testament to this argument.
Fundamental changes in social structure are needed for the complete transition to peace and
democracy, which includes awareness of public of the possibilities of conflict transformation, creation
of a dialogue, freedom of expression and the reflection on mistakes.
However, Peruvian graffiti, despite their hallmark of being honest and direct, are not widely discussed
in existing works of modern conflict transformation, nonetheless, street artists produced a huge impact
on post- conflict generation relying on creation of a new ideology that rejects cultural racism, social
exclusion and the mistreatment of gender and race. Murals around the country depicts individual sites
of memory that manifest hope, love, healing and peace. And, given the fact that the popularity of this
art direction is steadily increasing, facilitating by social networks, the strength and potential of new
manifesto is now fully revealed. Nowadays graffiti is a familiar element of the urban landscape - they
are everywhere, and therefore deserved to become a subject of academic attention in order to analyse
their impact.
Moreover, the appearance of different forms of free expression redefines the terms and limits of
cultural engagement in social processes. The current designs of urban art show that they are related to
themes, forms and styles that "mass culture" demands, precisely it is a form of a cultural response to
recent trauma produced by ‘insiders’. Being visible, accessible and symbolic street art creates a shared
cultural heritage, consequently mobilizing and promoting key elements of human rights. However, an
39
evaluation and semiotic analysis of graffiti are still challenged by existing ideas of nonconformism,
no- fixed objective and independence of state-led initiatives of modern street artists.
Whereas this paper contributes to the analysis of street art’s influence on transitional justice, it creates
a foundation and raises several issues for the future academic researches. Many academics on a theme
argue: there is no general theory in the field of social transformation aftermath the conflict, the history
remains contested. Thus, this work is a contribution to the multidisciplinary approach that manifests
cosmopolitan vision and produces efficient methods based on cooperation and respect. However,
factors that drive the reconciliation process of Peruvian nation in this work are specific to the case
study of street art, they cannot be generalised to other forms of cultural engagement in another part of
the world. Each case of conflict should be examined carefully and in terms of specific social, cultural
and political context.
Word Count: 9, 260
40
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Appendix A
Glossary of Spanish terms and expressions
Source: Real Academia Española (https://www.rae.es/;
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/spanish-english/)
Selva Amazonian Jungle
Sierra Andean Highlands
Costa Border of land next to the sea
Graffiteros callejeros Artists painting on street walls
Teatro callejero Street theatre
Esperanza Hope
Escritores de paredes Wall writers
Pintores de la noche Painters of the night
Espacio libre Free space
Hoy soy libre, mañana también Today I am free, tomorrow as well
Informe Report
Appendix B
Source: Ministerio del Interior (MININTER) - Dirección General de Inteligencia.
REGISTERED TERRORIST ACTIONS, 2008 – 2018
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Total 271 906 1 775 2 091 1 853 831 661 722 531 429 773
44
Appendix C
HOUSEHOLDS ACCESSING THE INTERNET SERVICE, ACCORDING TO GEOGRAPHICAL FIELD, 2008-2018
(Percentage with respect to the total of all households)
Geographical scope 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Total 8,6 11,0 13,0 16,4 20,2 22,1 23,5 23,2 26,4 28,2 29,8
Lima 18,6 23,4 25,7 32,7 38,7 41,4 44,5 42,4 48,2 52,1 54,2
Rest of Peru 4,2 5,4 7,3 9,2 12,0 13,2 14,0 14,3 16,3 17,5 18,7
Area of residence
Urban 11,7 14,9 17,4 21,8 26,6 28,9 30,7 30,2 34,1 36,3 38,1
Rural 0,1 0,1 0,3 0,4 0,8 0,9 1,2 1,0 1,5 1,6 2,1
Region
Costa (costal) 13,5 16,9 19,6 24,9 30,6 33,2 35,3 34,1 38,8 41,4 43,6
Sierra (highlands)) 3,0 4,5 5,6 6,9 8,8 9,7 10,0 10,5 12,0 12,9 13,7
Selva (jungle) 2,2 2,4 3,6 4,4 5,6 6,1 7,8 8,8 10,8 12,6 13,4
Department
Amazonas 1,4 1,5 2,0 2,9 5,1 5,0 8,9 7,2 11,0 14,5 16,3
Áncash 3,7 5,6 8,4 12,7 14,2 18,6 17,8 16,2 17,9 16,7 17,1
Apurímac 1,1 1,0 0,8 2,1 4,5 5,3 4,4 4,3 3,7 7,1 6,7
Arequipa 10,2 15,5 19,7 21,3 25,9 26,9 28,9 31,0 35,2 39,2 35,0
Ayacucho 1,5 3,0 3,5 3,7 6,4 4,9 6,2 5,3 6,1 5,7 7,2
Cajamarca 2,5 4,2 5,2 5,6 4,6 6,5 4,8 6,1 7,3 7,8 9,3
Prov. Const.Callao 15,5 18,0 21,8 25,7 33,7 37,1 41,6 37,4 45,5 44,6 50,7
Cusco 3,4 3,6 4,6 5,9 9,6 9,0 11,4 10,8 11,7 11,0 13,9
Huancavelica 0,4 0,7 0,6 1,3 1,7 2,5 2,0 2,4 4,1 2,6 2,8
Huánuco 2,0 2,6 4,0 5,2 6,9 7,0 8,5 9,3 8,3 8,4 9,2
Ica 4,9 8,2 10,0 16,7 20,4 23,2 25,2 26,7 27,7 33,2 33,6
Junín 3,2 4,0 5,8 8,2 8,4 11,6 11,5 15,4 19,7 20,9 21,3
La Libertad 8,3 8,8 11,6 13,0 20,1 20,4 21,6 21,8 25,7 25,0 24,7
Lambayeque 7,1 8,5 11,5 13,3 17,9 20,7 23,9 24,7 27,4 28,8 28,1
Lima 17,5 22,1 24,4 31,2 36,8 39,6 42,2 40,3 45,6 49,8 51,8
Provincia de Lima 2/ 19,0 24,1 26,2 33,5 39,2 41,9 44,8 42,9 48,5 52,9 54,6
Región Lima 3/ 4,2 4,3 8,6 11,0 15,7 18,2 18,7 15,5 18,2 20,9 25,2
Loreto 2,3 2,3 2,7 4,5 5,0 3,3 7,0 9,6 14,5 19,4 19,3
Madre de Dios 0,8 1,3 3,3 5,2 11,3 16,9 13,4 12,1 11,1 11,8 21,0
Moquegua 9,2 10,1 15,1 17,1 24,0 21,9 22,0 23,6 28,9 27,7 30,7
Pasco 2,2 2,6 3,9 2,9 4,3 4,3 5,0 5,9 6,0 6,3 6,4
Piura 3,8 4,9 6,3 9,9 13,6 15,3 13,8 13,3 13,9 14,9 20,6
Puno 0,4 1,9 1,6 3,5 4,7 5,7 6,3 5,7 5,7 7,2 9,2
San Martín 3,6 3,3 6,0 5,7 8,9 8,4 9,2 8,8 10,4 11,6 14,3
Tacna 11,4 13,2 17,9 19,2 23,5 26,2 29,3 27,0 35,5 39,3 44,0
Tumbes 1,9 3,7 6,4 11,0 17,6 18,7 21,6 24,1 22,0 22,7 21,4
Ucayali 3,2 4,8 5,5 6,7 7,2 9,0 8,2 9,7 12,1 13,7 15,0
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática - Encuesta Nacional de Hogares.
45
The Short Statement
In March 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the University of Essex, together with the
Albert Sloman Library, was closed on quarantine until further notice. Thus, all print books
instantly became unavailable for the public. And I occurred in a situation of quick adaptation to
fast- changing circumstances that challenged my habitual way of learning.
Although, by the time of lockdown my research work was nearly completed, I was still missing
some evidence concerning the theme of political, social and street art in Latin America. I was
planning to find useful information in books listed below to conclude my findings. But, due to the
current events, my research was based mostly on internet sources that are available online/ for
free.
A list of sources (I would have used):
1. Aristizábal Alzate, Gonzalo E. 2001. Un mundo de graffiti. Editorial Manigraf; 7a ed
2. Frank, Patrick. 2017. Manifestos and polemics in Latin American modern art. University of
New Mexico Press
3. Ryan, Holly Eva. 2017. Political street art: communication, culture and resistance in Latin
America. Routledge (had been requested by library before I finished the reading)
4. Stavans, Ilan and García, Jorge J.E. 2014. Thirteen ways of looking at Latino art. Duke
University Press