Cultural Notes
El arte aerosol – short version
Spray Paint Art
- Remember, expect this to be challenging.
- First, read the English version.
- Next, read the Spanish version.
- Click the control to hear the audio.
- Listen several times, following along on the transcript.
- Finally, listen without looking at the transcript.
- See how many words and phrases you can pick out.
- Then try the long version.
Short Version
Spray Paint Art
Go to any tourist oriented city in Mexico and you will eventually find a large group of people surrounding a person who is producing paintings with cans of spray paint. The paintings usually depict an ethereal scene of enormous planets orbiting a landscape defined by pyramids or craggy mountain peaks, or a gigantic moon rising above an ocean or a waterfall framed with palm trees. The work is done entirely with spray paint, plates to outline the planets, crumpled newspaper to smear and texture, and a blowtorch to dry the painting. The paintings are inexpensive and can be found in many cities in Mexico.
El arte aerosol
Quien viaje a cualquier ciudad turística de México eventualmente encontrará un gran número de personas que rodean a alguien que produce cuadros con pinturas de aerosol. Las obras generalmente representan una delicada escena de planetas enormes en órbita alrededor de un paisaje con pirámides o cumbres accidentadas, o una luna gigante que surge sobre un océano o una cascada enmarcada con palmas. El trabajo está hecho completamente con pinturas de aerosol, platos para delinear los planetas, periódico estrujado para untar y dar textura, y un soplete para secar la pintura. Las pinturas son baratas y pueden encontrarse en muchas ciudades de México.
