I had arranged to see Carolina since last week in order to take a series of portraits for a project I am currently working on. Finally, we ended meeting up recently to take the pictures and I also managed to have a brief conversation with her surrounding her motivations as a female graffiti writer.

While I was thinking of a location in which to photograph Carolina, I also wanted to find out more about her reasons for being interested in this culture, especially since it’s already quite unsafe to be a woman in this country, let alone as someone who risks herself by hanging out at night to paint her name on the walls. Added to that, it’s pretty uncommon to meet girl graffiti writers in general.

Incidentally, as I am shooting a picture of her underneath a bridge along Periferico avenue, a man shouts something at her, kind of like ‘Hey, you are very pretty’ in a sort of sexualised way. 
I immediately nod my head in anger, though I did not get the impression that the ‘compliment’ bothered her much.

Straight away, I asked Carolina if she ever gets pissed off by men who shout stuff at her? She responds, - of course it is annoying some times but one as a woman gets accustomed to it.
My guess is that women get used to it as they have no ‘choice’, though I still think it must be incredibly frustrating to have to bear this on a daily basis.

As we carry on walking, I cannot resist the temptation of asking her how comfortable is it that she feels being a girl, especially one her age who goes out at night to spray her name on walls around the city.

Carolina says that she does not have any fears. She feels absolutely safe when she goes out painting with the ‘right people’. In fact, she likes it when she hangs out with a particular who has been to prison several times. She says that because he has the street knowledge and a careless attitude towards things, it provides her with the confidence she needs to paint wherever she wants to.

She has never really encountered any dangers on the streets at night, luckily enough that is. I would also add that I have seen her name spread around various locations ( good and bad neighbourhoods ) of the city with good style. Her graffiti totally stands out to my eyes!

Another element that drove me towards wanting to photograph her is the fact that she keeps her graffiti illegally for the most part. She tells me that she won’t mind painting a legal wall every now and again but illegal graffiti is what mostly inspires her .

As we reach her old college, I make a point that graffiti has a compulsive and obsessive nature to it. Once you start you cannot stop, and I seriously mean that!
She adds a comment to my remark, which is that when she used to attend college, some times she would turn up pretty knackered to her lessons after spending long nights out painting every other week.

Since Carolina would spend a few nights in a row with her friends painting graffiti, she would not turn up to college for the morning lessons, hence she ended up failing chemistry as a result.

Graffiti made her slightly irresponsible towards her other obligations however, still to this day it fulfils her life with joy and freedom.

I presume that for Carolina, being one of the very few female graffiti writers in Mexico City, that makes her feel special.

I believe that due to her passion for graffiti,in her I sense a kind of empowerment and independence, followed by pride and confidence.

I continued by asking her what she preferred to do more, whether to go out partying or painting at night? She responded that she enjoys both, although she would never again combine graffiti and alcohol, they simply don’t go well together. She says that on some occasions, when she has been quite drunk, she’s ended up painting some horribly looking pieces!

Finally, I concluded our conversation by asking her what her parents say of feel about the fact that she risks her safety by being out at night painting.

Of course my parents used to feel quite uneasy and worried back when I started, she responds. Now, they have finally got used to it and accept my passion.

My guess, in reality is that although they might accept it, they cannot help but to worry about her safety every time she steps out of the house at night with a bag full of paint and a focused mind ready to spread her name across the streets of Mexico City…