ABSTRACT
Understanding the field of street art in Sao Paulo requires attention to the particular way it is distinguished in the city: graffiti or pixo. The measure sparked a strong reaction among pixo writers and graffiti artists, and they began to write protests against the mayor on the city walls. When the Cidade Linda project was created, promoting the idea of efficient maintenance and embellishment of the urban landscape, a crusade against pixo was initiated and rapidly gained popularity. The government keeps trying to find a way to curb the “problem” of pixo, which they see as a sign of urban decay. Pixo’s greater involvement in the public and artistic spheres started to provide many of its writers with the chance to build new life projects, that is, new ways of performing, exploring and even defining reality inside and outside pixo.
