Giant mural in Buenos Aires honors rock icon Charly García

Buenos Aires is celebrating the enduring legacy of rock legend Charly García with a colossal new mural adorning a prominent corner of the city. The artwork, spanning almost 200 square meters, pays homage to García, whom artist Martín Ron describes as a "prócer del rock" – a hero of Argentine rock music.

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When they approached me with the proposal, it was an enormous joy because it was a pending assignment to paint a rock idol who I hadn't painted before, a hero.

The mural is situated on the terrace of the iconic Zivals record store and bookstore, located at the intersection of Corrientes and Callao avenues. Zivals commissioned the piece to commemorate its 55th anniversary. The artwork is a vibrant reinterpretation of the cover of García's seminal 1983 album, 'Clics Modernos,' which originally featured the musician in New York City.

Artist Martín Ron, globally recognized for his large-scale murals and graffiti art, has masterfully translated the album's imagery. While maintaining a striking resemblance to the original black-and-white photograph of García, Ron has incorporated iconic elements of the Buenos Aires cityscape, effectively transplanting the album's urban narrative from New York to the heart of the South American capital.

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I went to a graffiti artist and said, 'If this is literally a wall in Buenos Aires, we need it to be graffitied like that wall in Manhattan, so do whatever you want.'

Ron expressed his immense joy at the opportunity to paint an idol like García, calling it a "pending assignment." He noted that the mural integrates the worlds of urban art, music, and literature, involving local artists in its creation. Notably, García himself gave his personal approval to the artwork, visiting the site even while scaffolding was still in place before its official unveiling. The mural celebrates 'Clics Modernos,' an album deeply embedded in Argentina's cultural fabric, known for songs like 'Nos siguen pegando abajo' and 'Los dinosaurios,' which captured the collective mood of the 1980s during Argentina's transition back to democracy.

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Charly García was there a few days before (the inauguration), when the scaffolding was still up, to give his approval to the work.