Bardas de Baile

Dance wall preceded by the date of the event and the location 'aqui' ('here'), Oaxaca region

Dance wall with advertising for the performance of the band 'Marco Flores Jerez' (left) in Oaxaca de Juarez

Bardas de Baile (Spanish for dance walls, or music or party walls; "Bardas" for "walls", "Baile" for "dance") are wall paintings that are used to advertise popular music events in Mexico . Usually walls along busy streets are painted with the word marks of the music bands performing.

layout

As a rule, the design of the dance walls follows a fixed scheme: It begins with the naming of the event date and location. This is followed by the names of the roughly three to five music groups that perform. Well-known bands have logo-like word marks, the design of the fonts for lesser- known groups seems to be left to the respective painter. The font design is generally two-dimensional and colorful, often with color gradients. The individual letters are usually delimited with a black outline. The words are also often given a thick, colorful frame.

The appearance of the Bardas de Baile is reminiscent of graffiti , especially since graffiti can also be found on such walls. However, there is no substantive connection. Bardas de Baile are painted on by so-called rotulistas. They see themselves more as commissioned painters than as artists.

The announcement of the parties is an ephemeral and informal cultural phenomenon: the respective design usually only exists for a short time. Then the advertisement is painted over to indicate a new event.

Legal situation

According to our understanding of the law, it is difficult to judge whether these murals are legal or illegal. To do this, one must bear in mind that Mexican society is heavily influenced by corruption . And because the same rotulistas also paint advertisements for the election campaigns of regional politicians on the same walls, the local police tolerate and cover their activities. The homeowners do not dare to object. Often they prefer the colorful design as a music wall to the raw walls anyway - at this point we should also refer to the tradition of ' muralism ', the large, political wall paintings of Mexico. And every now and then there are even a few free tickets in return for the music and dance events, which are especially popular with ordinary people.

and display information about the image

Composite panoramic image of a music wall in Oaxaca de Juarez

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Patricia Cué: Mexican Wall Painting: Bardas de Baile . Ghost & Company, 2013, ISBN 978-0-615-76124-4 .
2. ↑ Alexis Dworsky: ¡Part Propaganda! in Oaxaca and Bavaria. 2018, accessed on August 10, 2018 (German, Spanish).