Cartoonneros was born in 1980 in Buenos Aires City, Argentina. At the age of 5, his family moved to Ushuaia -the southernmost city in the world- where he developed his love for art. He spent the cold winters of this extreme of Patagonia climate (with temperatures below -20ºC) drawing and painting as he grew up. In this city, he got a degree in Fine Arts and made his first murals and street art interventions. In 2000, he returned to Buenos Aires City, where he continued painting while studying Psychology and Music (his other passions).
During the past 15 years, Cartoonneros has created his own style, an unmistakeable trade mark of Buenos Aires streets. His stencils cover most of the Argentine capital neighbourhoods and its murals can be seen in public hospitals and schools, parks and shantytown walls. He has worked with many local and international artists -such as European stencil pioneer Jef Aerosol-and participated in Buenos Aires City Government program “Buenos Aires Street Art”. Outside Argentina, his work can be seen in cities such as: Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Madrid (Spain), Paris (France), London (UK) and Berlin (Germany).
THE ART
The main focuses of his work are social and political issues and music. He has made stencil for local rock bands and international artists as Morphine, Robert Wyatt, Thurston Moore, Krist Novoselic from Nirvana (who uses a Cartoonneros stencils as his Twitter profile photo), Tony Allen (drummer of Fela Kuti) and Cat Power. As part of his social commitment, he regularly leads free art workshops and street art classes. In 2016, he made his first TEDx talk entitled “Una rebeldia constructiva” (a contructive rebellion).
THE NAME
The name is a fusion of the English word "cartoon" and the Spanish word "cartonero". This word describes an informal way of employment which arose after the social and economic crisis of 2001 in Argentina. It involves collecting cardboards from the garbage in order to sell them to recycling plants. The name, as most of Cartoonneros art, traduces and expresses his social and political concerns.
In Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @cartoonneros