By Javier Hasse and Hernán Panessi
At first glance, these works already look special. You can quickly spot that unique touch, that it factor. Take a deep breath: that familiar herbal smell spirals off the canvas, perfuming the air around us.
Trippy drawings, dreamlike maps, colors that represent ideas that go beyond imagination; psychedelic fantasy and weed-friendly heritage merge in these illustrations.
Below is a list of Latin American pencil and brush artists who, in their work – explicitly – and in the makeup of their being – implicitly – stand out for their 420-friendly essence. The compass points directly to Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina, places that emanate color, talent, audacity, rhythm, and substance.
Chavo Escrotito (Gran Buenos Aires, Argentina)
At some point during the pandemic, Octavio "Chavo" Saraintaris put his desire to study stand-up comedy on hold and poured all that bottled-up creativity onto the intimacy of paper.
"That idiot Superman will see how Batman CAN fly!", COURTESY
Today, a little over three years after starting with Chavo Escrotito, his artistic alter ego who explores stoned, absurd, and flighty jokes, Saraintaris has become one of the most outstanding graphic humorists in Argentina.
In his creative process, spontaneity weighs heavily. That's why any silly thing that comes to mind ends up in his mobile phone’s notepad and then becomes a drawing destined for social media.
"The Invention of Farting", COURTESY
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During this very active time, Chavo has published three fanzines; all of them curiously connected to the bathroom. It is, let's say, the Bathroom Trilogy, "my Lord of the Rings," he said in an interview.
Their names? “A trip to the bathroom,” “A return to the bathroom,” and “A life in the bathroom.”
Gonza Varas (Mendoza, Argentina)
Mondo Porro, COURTESY
As the leader of the Motochorros gang, a former member of the Bazofia artist collective, and the founder of Mabel Editorial, a South American and countercultural counterpart to Marvel Comics, Gonza Varas has an extraordinary talent.
With an alien-like drawing style, an “herbal” scent and unlimited energy, Varas creates illustrations for brands, designs flyers, draws album covers, and also promotes other colleagues. He has already edited works by well known artists Rip Gordon and Robosepu, among others.
Varas also published the illustration book “Mondo Porro” [Planet Weed] recently, with a foreword written by Ariel Winograd, the director of blockbuster films such as “The Heist of the Century,” “Permitidos,” and “Vino para Robar.”
Silustra (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Silustra, COURTESY
Silvana “Silustra” Casuccio was born in Buenos Aires but now lives in Barcelona. She is an artist, illustrator, muralist, designer and teacher. And she really likes to smoke marijuana.
In fact, she said in an interview, many of her images “arose from a personal love for cannabis, but …