Bogotá is, hands down, one of the best places in the world to see street art.
Bogotá is, hands down, one of the best places in the world to see street art. In recent years, graffiti has taken over the city, thanks to the work of more than 8,000 artists and benevolent local laws—graffiti is a violation, not a crime that’ll land you in prison.
Let’s start the tour from Chapinero, one of the city’s 20 districts, locally referred to as localidades. Its eastern side is an upper-middle class residential area, while its western side is known for commerce and entertainment, including a vibrant gay club scene. First, we need to talk about our roads, all of them numbered. If they run east to west, they are called calles (their numbers go up the farther south or north you are from downtown; if you are south from downtown, the streets have an “S” next to their number). If the streets run from south to north, they are called carreras (something like avenues; numbers go up as you go west).
Start at the intersection of Calle 45 and Carrera 7, close to Universidad Javeriana. Heading west through Calle 45 for a dozen blocks, on a straight line, you can get to La Soledad neighborhood and its Parkway—a park between street lanes featuring bars, cafés, theaters and restaurants—and to Universidad Nacional, the most important campus in the country. Walk one block, going west looking for Carrera 8. Half a block up on the right, next to a five-story brick building, you’ll see the many-eyed lizard—the work of Rodez, a professional artist, illustrator and university teacher. Rodez is known for his style using multiple eyes: when you’re looking at the wall, his paintings are looking right back at you.
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