The urban artist Vlocke Negro carried out a new action yesterday, this time on a large white tarp placed to cover the advertising of a well-known soft drink brand, which he himself had made last November 23, on the underbridge in front of the Azteca stadium. The intervention, titled There is no fair play on stripped land, It was deleted a few days later by mayoral authorities.
For the purposes of the “restoration” of the mural, a press conference was called that was attended by residents of the town of Santa Úrsula Coapa and colonies of the Pedregales of Coyoacán and Tlalpan, since the action of Vlocke Negro and his team was carried out in support of the demands of the residents regarding the works, especially hydraulic, that are being carried out in the area with a view to the celebration of the FIFA World Soccer Championship 2026. Their priority demand is the expropriation of the extraction well that the Televisa company, owner of the Azteca stadium, has a concession.
Just before the meeting, those responsible for placing the advertisement covered it with the white canvas, which at first left two options: paint over it or remove it and “paint as we had planned on the soft drink advertising,” Vlocke Negro told The Day. “The idea of being here is to denounce the dispossession of water for the neighborhood of Santa Úrsula Coapa. We are going to continue denouncing these appropriations, as well as the gentrification suffered by the area and Mexico City in general.”
The urban artist had the idea of it being “a peaceful and community act. This activity has always brought together the residents of the neighborhood; therefore, they come from young people to older adults. The intervention is a very beautiful project in which art and the community converge.”
According to Natalia Lara Trejo, on behalf of the Neighborhood Assembly against the Tlalpan-Coyoacán Megaconstructions, “we like to generate these inconveniences, but also to respect people’s rights. The Water Secretariat of Mexico City informed us last Friday that the blade that is on the side of the underbridge already belongs to the people; therefore, it cannot be part of any company or be concessioned for advertising.”
Through these interventions, “little by little we gained territory,” said Lara Trejo. “The Government of Mexico City committed that this space will be a rainwater harvesting garden, although, above all, it will respect the part of the murals that we are doing and that no one has the right to remove, as was done last week. Where we are is part of the original town of Santa Úrsula Coapa and they will have to first ask permission from the traditional authority to carry out commercial interventions.”
In view of the fact that “no authorization has been requested, the one who is illegal is not us when making these interventions, but the soft drink company. If the State gave authorization, we demand that the Government of Mexico City cancel it, because it is not allowed to carry out actions on the rights of indigenous peoples.”
The person responsible for placing the advertisement, who identified himself as a publicist, but did not reveal his name, said “to join the demands that they make as citizens, because we are also citizens. We have therefore placed a tarp/canvas as a frame ready for the demonstrations to take place in plain sight.” Immediately afterwards, Vlocke Negro and his team were “invited” to “paint or do whatever they like. We don’t want any confrontation, of course. I was hired directly by an advertising agency,” he explained.