I arrived in Bogotá at night and the first mural that struck me on my ride from the airport to my apartment, was this one, “Pais de Mierda.” I always wanted to go back and read it to learn more about it. It’s Jaime Garzon, a former political satirist, lawyer, journalist, and peace activist. He was very popular on Colombian television in the 90’s. He was murdered in 1999 and his killers have never been found. Directly translated, “Pais de Mierda” means “Shitty Country.” To the bottom right, you can see Che Guevara and “Todo el Poder al Pueblo,” which means “All Power to the People.” Between Garzon and Guevara, is a stencil of Lenin and below him, “Red.” 23SEP2012 Bogota, Colombia.

This is a new one I found on a wall off of Carrera 7. I zoomed in on this character, but it’s a part of a much larger picture titled “Lucha,” which means “Fight.” The whole piece is full of grenades, bullet cases, and other military paraphernalia that are flying around chaotically in a fury, really demonstrating the violence of war. 23SEP12. Bogotá, Colombia.