Resumen

ELORZA-GUZMAN, Orlando. Artistic activism in the centers of São Paulo and Mexico City. Alteridades [online]. 2025, vol.35, n.70, pp.105-116.  Epub 24-Oct-2025. ISSN 2448-850X.  https://doi.org/10.24275/xjqs1766.

Drawing on ethnographic research, this article explores the challenges, limitations, and potential value of artistic practice in complex and socially disadvantaged contexts. The participants in this comparative study are located in the Luz district of São Paulo and the Colonia Guerrero neighborhood in Mexico City. These artists have undertaken various initiatives tailored to the specific conditions of their environments -working-class, stigmatized urban areas- allowing vulnerable and marginalized populations who live and move through these spaces to engage with the arts. The study highlights the importance of art as a tool for sociocultural analysis, revealing urban identity markers, intercultural dynamics, and aspects of social vulnerability in the central zones of Latin America’s two most populous cities.

Palabras llave : social art; urban anthropology; cultural studies.

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