Hidden Art

After chatting a bit with the residents, we headed into the old mansion.

As far as abandonment went it was pretty standard. The most interesting thing were the murals, some of which commemorated the expulsion of the residents of the abandoned building. They reminded me of the murals in the Amtrak Tunnel on the west side of Manhattan commemorating the exodus of the homeless residents there (I don't know why some of the writing is in English). "Saudades" somewhat translates as "longing melancholy nostalgia," but far from perfectly. In the second picture, above the heart, is an example of "pixacao," a graffiti writing style native to Sao Paulo.

There were also some of the distinctive blue designs by the artist Zezao, who's most famous for painting throughout the sewers, and generally only paints in similarly out-of-the-way places.

This is one of the most rewarding things about going exploring - the ability to see things other people don’t, or even can’t. What it is isn’t even that important. Any explorer type who says they don’t get at least a small kick from the exclusiveness of going places you aren’t allowed to is lying. It wasn't quite on par with what you find in the Paris catacombs, but it was nevertheless quite interesting.

A few more murals:

I left happy, saying goodbye to Nieva on the way out, and also finding another little friend in another mural on the outside of the building.