Our slide show works best with horizontals so Ruiz’s mural photos are below.
A conversation with Ramón Burgos Ruiz
ML: Where are you from:
RBR: I’m originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
I moved to San Francisco from San Juan officially in 1992. I had previously visited SF, but when I made the difficult decision to leave the island that my family has called home for 488 years, I was thinking that I wanted to move to Caracas; it’s closer to San Juan, and the people of Venezuela are wonderful. Plus, I could remain “close” (500 miles) to my family. San Francisco won out because I’ve always lived near the ocean, and also, I like cooler weather!
ML: Do you have a website you would like us to link to?
RBR: I have approximately 11,000 photos posted to Flickr.
They cover topics such as Pride Parade, political demonstrations, futbol(!), animals, etc., but the bulk of my work is street art, graffiti and to a lesser degree what some call tags and others call writing. I’m not a fan of the latter because I think it’s less respectful of serious artists and personal property, but some of it shows a high degree of talent, such as Reyes.
I have the city divided into zones that I cover on a regular basis. That’s why I know to visit some areas more than others, and I keep a record of what’s going up. Some areas are more prolific than other – more in the Mission and less in Western Addition, and virtually zero in the Castro where I live.
I have thousands of photographs going back a number of years and covering the topic.
ML: Your views on street art?
RBR: My interpretation of graffiti/street art is that it’s the oldest art-form and has some of the longest continuity. Graffiti can be found in Egyptian quarries, petroglyphs, rock art on every continent, ancient European and caves throughout the Americas. It’s not going away simply because people have become territorial, it’s here to stay, and it can bring income to many neighborhoods via street art/graffiti tourism. One of the first questions visitors ask me is about places to photograph it, and the younger generation embraces it, but it’s not exclusive to a single generation either.
I’ve watched the changes that have altered the composition and the mentality of San Francisco. I think that art plays a pivotal role in maintaining the character of an area and its sense of cultural place.
I know that some of it will be painted over; that’s why I like to document it.
I have favorite artists: Amanda Lynn, Lango, Jet Martínez, Bodé, Reyes, Banksy, Twick, and that’s only a few.
ML: Interested in helping with our GMM project documenting the Mission waking up?
RRB: Re: 6:30 AM – NO WAY!!!!! Hahaha!
I spent the better part of my life waking up at 4 AM – doña Eugenia & don Eloy (my parents) didn’t allow anybody to sleep late! They were old school – sleeping was for gente vaga. Like Tito Puente’s famous songs states: ¡Hay que trabajar!
Now, the earliest I wake up is maybe 8:30.
Photo by Ramón Burgos y Ruiz
