Title: Protest Graffiti Mexico: Oaxaca
Photographer(s): Elaine Sendyk
Writer(s): Lila Downs, Louis E. V. Nevaer
Designer(s):
Publisher(s): Mark Batty Publisher, New York, U.S.A.
Year: 2007
Print run:
Language(s): English
Pages: 160
Size: 18,5 x 25 cm
Binding: Hardcover
Edition:
Print: Printed and bound in China
Nation(s) and year(s) of Protest: Mexico, 2006
ISBN: 978-0979966644
On October 27, 2006 Mexican police opened fire on protesters in the city of Oaxaca, killing three people, and making the world aware of a social conflict that at its core is about teachers providing their students proper educations. Within hours of the shootings, graffiti calling the region's governor a murderer was sprayed throughout the city. Unlike in other cities, the graffiti in Oaxaca proliferated in the name of achieving social justice.Because teachers in Mexico are primarily women, the graffiti is also unique in how it is inspired and created by women.
By introduction text of the book.
What I love about this book is how beautifully it frames the role art played in the uprising. From the timeline at the front of the book to the context of how art changed as the uprising continued and evolved along the way. What began as a teacher’s strike for higher wages gradually became a large scale protest against the governor of Oaxaca and the overall inequalities and corruption that exist in the state. The book explores the different art collectives (Asaro, ArteJaguar) as well as individual artists like Ana Santos alongside the story of the teachers. In all, the uprising lasted for more than a year, with much of the centro of Oaxaca closed down. Initially there was widespread support for the uprising but once the economic toll became more serious, and the government response more violent, people began to tire of the seige.
By Susan Coss in mezcalistas.com