Beco do Batman (English: Batman's Alley) is the nickname for the area around Rua Gonçalo Afonso and Rua Medeiros de Albuquerque in the Vila Madalena neighborhood of São Paulo, Brazil.[1] Beco do Batman is a popular tourist destination because of the dense concentration of graffiti that line the streets.
History of Beco do Batman
The nickname for the area is attributed to a graffito of the DC Comics character Batman which was painted on one of the walls in the 1980s.[2] Local art students began filling the walls with other psychedelic and cubist influenced designs.[1][3]
Vila Madalena received thousands of tourists during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and there was a corresponding rise in reported incidents of robbery and assault in and around Beco do Batman during the period (2013–2014).[4]
The graffiti of Beco do Batman is now continually renovated and cared for by local community members.[1]
