Graffiti Vigilantes Have a Mission to Correct Artists' Spelling and Grammar Marissa Fessenden - Smithsonian.com
go to original March 14, 2015

Acción Poética Tijuana (SoyAlejandraLopez.com)

The city of Tijuana, Mexico has some messages for you, painted on underpasses, walls and fences in bold black words: "Respiro tu nombre"—I breathe your name; "Siempre es hoy"—it’s always today; "Dilo sin decirclo"—say it without saying it.

These short poetic phrases, cataloged in a video (see above) by Alejandra Lopez, are different from the typical graffiti. The phrases are part of a movement called Acción poética (Poetic Action), started by Mexican poet Armando Alanís in 1996, Lopez explains.

The movement has spread throughout Spanish-speaking countries, but now some people are objecting — not to the sentiment, but to the spelling and grammar of the poets. In Quito, Ecuador, a group of young men have taken matters into their own hands, to the joy of copy editors and grammarians everywhere.

The Quito grammar vigilantes call themselves Acción Ortografica Quito, and they explain their mission in an anonymous interview with Colors Magazine. (Even those who correct mistakes in graffiti are participating in activity that police frown upon.) "There’s a big difference in saying: 'No quiero verte' (I don’t want to see you) and 'No, quiero verte' (No, I want to see you)," one of the group members told the magazine. "Many times, someone does not realize how a comma or an oversight can completely change the meaning of a sentence. It can change your life."

Read the rest at Smithsonian.com

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