Week & reading, “Graffiti is Art” by Chaz Borquez, entailed information on the historical standpoints in which Graffiti came to begin and also how it was demonized. As a Los Angeles Latino, he talks about his experience with the "cholo" Latino gang style of graffiti and how placas were considered to be territorial street boundaries (p.118). Along with street styles of writing he explains symbols that are used such as the skull, and how these symbols are interpreted in our communities. The skull symbolize rebirth not death in the latino community unlike in others, and with that comes along respect or such symbols that cannot be used by just anybody because they carry a whole lot of history and heritage. Gonzales spoke about now being a gang member himself but growing up around it and developing a sort of respect for the visual art representation that was displayed in his entire community.
I resonated with Gonzales a lot in the aspect of growing up in South Central, Los Angeles and graffiti being much a normal to us to a point were it is not demonized any more. Growing up we knew that if we saw someone blasting a wall while walking home from school we do not stop and stare and most of all we don't try to stop it. The next day we would see it all finished and we would try to decipher the font style and characters used in the piece. Now as a student who travels back and forth from Westwood to South Central on a daily seeing graffiti pieces and street art, like the iconic Cheech and Chong piece off the I-10 on Alameda, lets me know I am home.
I love that specific art around you signals that you are home. As we grow up and become aware of our surroundings, it's beautiful to see how pieces of our community stay with us. Also, that image of the graffiti is amazing!
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