A short time ago I had the pleasure of making the journey back to South America to share the Ironlak love with mis amigos en Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
The first stop on the itinerary was to Rio De Janeiro via LA, San Salvador and Bogota. Trust me when I tell you that is a lot of time sitting in airplane seats and boarding lounges. By the time I dragged myself off the plane I was well and truly excited to be back in Brazil, especially in Rio which I didn’t get to visit on my last trip.
Valdi, with Joao, Fernanda and Caiou – Ironlak’s Distributors in Brazil.
Waiting at the gate to meet me were my good friends Caiou (aka Billy Bad Ass) and Joao who handle Ironlak distribution in Brazil. Barely had the blood started pumping feeling back into my legs before they piled me into a van for a 3 hour drive to Macae, a coastal city a couple of hunded kilometres North of Rio, where we would paint and connect at the 2nd Annual Kolirius Graffiti Festival, arranged by Muk SC.
Check out the video from the event here.
Main wall at Kolirius.
The event was a really enjoyable time, there was a smattering of international guests, headlined by BG183 from NY’s TATS Crew, but it was the super high standard of the local Brazilian writers that caught my attention the most. There is so many talented artists, particularly with characters that I had never been aware of.
Finding spots in the favela.
Being invited into a Brazillian favela to paint is a rare experience, and I wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip, once I had finished my spot on the main wall, I packed up paint and with Vejam, Dake and Billy Bad Ass, journeyed into the favela to find walls to bless for the locals, fitting in as much as I could in the short time I was there.
All too quickly I was back in the airport, boarding a plane bound for Columbia.
A quick Char for the local kids.
The locals.
More info: TheEssentialShit.com