Isabel Carrasco Castro - Pintadas de mayo en Torrenueva

176 pages
Text(s) by Isabel Carrasco Castro 
Photograph(s) by Isabel Carrasco Castro 
13 x 19 cm
Language: Spanish, English
Paperback
Publisher: Self-published
2023

This book is a catalogue of photographs taken in the town in Torrenueva (Ciudad Real, Spain) between 2018 and 2023. The images document a unique and original tradition of graffiti on the verge of extinction, the so called “pintadas de mayo”. On the night of April 30, marking the beginning of popular May celebrations, young men have gone out to write on the façade of a girl's house as proof of interest and as an excuse to strike up a conversation. The ritual has evolved over the years in terms of purpose, location and medium and can be analyzed in the category of “love graffiti”. Always unsanctioned and never fully accepted by the town, “pintadas de mayo” reflect the changes in the relationship between genres as well as that between the town and their idea of public space and its use.