Toxicomano is a street art collective that created the character of Eddie to represent a generation of Bogotanos who are not served by capitalism

Graffiti is not illegal in Bogota, which accounts for the abundance of tags, stencils, and murals that adorn the walls throughout the city. The benefit of having legal street art, which may seem counter intuitive to Westerners who oppose the practice, is that since artists have more time to spend on their work without fear of being arrested, the outcome is usually a much more impressive, colorful, and well-thought-out piece than they would create otherwise.

Below are some photos of the more impressive work I saw. To learn more about Bogota’s street art, you can take a Graffiti Tour with Crisp, an Australian who’s made Bogota his home. You can also visit my friend Jackie’s blog TOKIDOKI where she nearly obsessively documents new and existing murals in Bogota.