El imperio contraataca ou l'intertextualité des fresques de brigades à Montevideo

Abstract

This article deals with a particular category of murals: those that are painted and signed by the brigades of Uruguayan political parties. These brigades usually carry out « pintadas », which are painted slogans, but in some occasions or in specific places they paint more elaborate frescoes, which can be analyzed as a particular type of discourse blending culture and politics. We will focus on three series of murals. The first one shows the transition from the superimposition of logos and flags to real frescoes. The others are portraits of local political heroes and murals that display many influences, drawing from different cultural spheres, in particular from popular culture. This article focuses on the symbolic efficacy of these murals, that stems from different degrees of the evocation of, and transdiscursive interrelation with, older and more legitimate traditions in the realms of the arts and political protest. These murals that recall others thus form a network of pictures and meanings, both building and showing political cultures and the way in which they are expressed in Montevideo.

Keywords

• intertextuality
• murals
• brigades
• political cultures
• Montevideo