MICOrigins...
MICO ~ as ~ Latin Pride! Actively hit public surfaces 1970 to 1975.
King Of The D Line. 1970 - 1973.
King Of The QJ Line. 1970 - 1973.
Co-founder of the first all-Latino Writing Group in Brooklyn, NY. - /SALVAJES/ in 1970.
First Writer to introduce the Throwup Piece and do Masterpieces in between stations at Beverly Rd. and Cortelyou Rd. on the Brighton Beach "D" Line, Brooklyn, Spring 1971.
First Writer from Brooklyn voted into U.G.A., 1973.
The first Writer in the history of NYC Aeorosol Art to sell a spray-painted masterpiece on canvas in an art gallery setting, 9/73, at the Razor Gallery show in NYC. The second was BAMA / AMRL ("Orange Juice");
The third was Phase 2 ("Hyperbolic Paranoia"), both at the same Razor Gallery show.
First and only Socio-Political Writer during the first two generations of NYC Aerosol Art, 1969 - 1975.
Campaigns included:
Free Puerto Rico
Free Lolita Lebron
Free Carlos Feliciano
Free Mandela
Free Sisulu
Hang Nixon!
The only Writer to have never left his / her name spray painted on a train yard and / or layup tunnel wall.
The only Writer to have never left empty aerosol paint cans in a train yard or layup tunnel. Once empty, I would always either hide the spray paint cans inside subway cars under the seats, or would dispose of them in a trash can outside the yard or layup tunnel.
Before I continue, it must be clear in the mind of the reader that I do not make the above claims because I'm bigger, better or brighter than any other writer of my time, nor because I dreamed about all of this. No, I continue to maintain that what I experienced during the First Generation of NYC Aerosol Art, was the result of my luck of simply having been at the right place, at the right time.
Just like it can happen any day to anyone, a person can also be "at the wrong place, at the wrong time." My experiences of 1970 - 1975 in connection with Aerosol Art could have happenned to anyone.
Had I not been in NYC in 1970, this very web page wouldn't even exist today. Many other youth who were in NYC at the time also had similar experiences to the ones I had. Some of us, however, chose to be more original than others.
I was lucky to have teamed up with characters such as MANI, PelUSA, MALO, and the 'Junior Varsity" or next generation members such as MONI, SAVAGE (R.I.P.) All City, CLUTCH II and CLAW II. (Erasmus Hall H.S. & Martense St. & Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn, NY.)
In 1967 at NORDECO School in Barranquilla, Colombia (S.A.), one of my classmates was given the nickname "Mico" by another classmate. "Mico" in northern Colombia means "monkey." This guy really looked like a monkey! But he really hated being called a "monkey," specially around the girls. He hated it so much that he would start a fight with whomever called him "Mico." At the time, I was 12 years young.
"Mico" was older and bigger than me, but we used to love bothering him with the nickname, and in order to avoid getting our asses kicked by this bigger guy, a friend of mine and I decided to continue to drive him crazy and embarass him by anonymously writing his nickname all over the inside of the school with white chalk. In the boys room, on the black boards, on the walls, etc.
In the fall of 1969 my mother registered me at Erasmus Hall High School, 911 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, NY.
High School in Brooklyn was for me a new and overwhelming experience. I was 14 years young, in a new country whose language I did not speak. I was a total stranger surrounded by people who were older than me and spoke a different language. At times I used to feel like an idiot because I could not understand what other people were saying to me or what was going on in my classes, etc.
At the time, there were very few Latinos at Erasmus Hall, probably no more than 20. There I met two fellow Colombian students, MANIcomio and PelUSA. The three of us became tight and started to hang out and play soccer together.
In mid 1970, we noticed that a few names started to get around in East Flatbush and Crown Heights walls. Names such as Undertaker Ash, Flowers Dice, Cool Cat I, Daddy Cool, King of Kools, Arrow Deco Inc, Half, Dino Nod (R.I.P.), Hell Cat, Sex Machine, Lazar, WG, Scooter, and others.
MANI, PelUSA and I always wondered who these people that wrote on the neighborhood walls were.
However, because of the fact that some of the names started to get up more than the others, it became obvious to us that these people were mainly trying to become "famous," by having their names written as much as possible all over the place.
That same year in the summer, we decided to also become "famous" and start writing our names and, "sort of compete" with the others in getting around or getting our names "up."
Given the fact that there were groups that wrote their names all over the place, groups such as The Vanguards, Last Survivors, Magic Inc., The Hellcats, The Brotherhood of Hoodlums and others, we decided to form our own writing group, SALVAJES.
When WG co-founded Ex Vandals with Nod at Erasmus Hall H.S., WG offered me membership in it, but I declined the offer because I was busy and focused writing SALVAJES instead.
MANI had no problem picking a name to hit (tag) with because his friends back in Medellin had given him the nickname MANIcomio. For hitting (tagging) purposes however, he chose MANI because it was short and quick.
PelUSA got his hitting name at MANI's suggestion. This was due to the fact of PelUSA's long and wild hair style.
Because the word PelUSA is slightly long, he compressed his hitting name by writing the "P" and incorporating the "e" and the "l" onto the "P" plus USA.
I didn't know what name to use for hitting puposes, but it ocurred to me that it may be a good idea to write "MICO" on the walls of NYC, just as I was writing that guy's nickname a year before on the walls at the NORDECO school in Barranquilla. I felt that this guy would experience the ultimate humilliation if he ever visited NYC and actually saw the nickname he despised so much, written even in NYC!!!!
The irony of this true story, however, is that eventually, I would be the one to become known as MICO in NYC.
In the summer of 1970, the three of us started writing MICO, MANI and PelUSA on the inside walls of Erasmus Hall HIgh School. We started writing with black magic markers, but quickly reached a consensus that our names needed to get around more. This would require us to start hitting outside the school.
MANI suggested that we use spray paint, and so we did.
The first color spray paint I ever used was silver.
This was a can I found in the basement of the building I used to live at on Cortelyou Rd.
Just as fast as we agreed to get around more, we also agreed that the subway trains were the perfect moving surface which would really get us around the entire NYC.
The closest layup to us was the QJ layup at Neck Rd. / Sheepshead Bay on the Brighton Beach Line. It was simple to enter. It was outdoors so it helped us with our breathing fresh air instead of the toxic aerosol fumes. It was dark. Best of all: It was unknown to any other writers. That's where we hit our very first trains. It was our "home."
Something else we realized was that big letters on the sides of the subway cars could be seen from farther away in the distance. I felt also that big letters would ad a certain dramatism to our hitting campaign in order to "become famous."
In early 1971, MANI was the first person I ever heard suggesting that we should call our big-letter hits, masterpieces. He actually did the first masterpiece on the side of a NYC subway car that I ever saw.
Eventually, though, other writers such as CoCo 144, Tan 144, Pollo 136 and Ace 137 from Manhattan, did find out about our "private" layup and started descending there in the evenings to hit our Line, and the whole layup became too crowded with even other Writers, and unfortunately for all of us, it became hot. From this point forward, it became a battle between us and them, the Writers vs. the NYC Police Dept. The whole game became nothing short of guerilla warfare, complete with:
a) daily updated maps of which layups and yards were hot, and which were not. (Daily intelligence reports from the field by other writers were always available at the 149th St., and Atlantic Avenue Writer Benches).
b) planning and executing hit and run operations, such as the in-between-rush-hour bombing raids at the Kingston Avenue layup in Brooklyn. (The planning and execution of said actions could be intra-group or inter-group)
c) acquiring master keys and conductor/engineer keys, so as to be able to improve Writers' mobility throughout subway stations and parked trains. Obtaining said keys would cause other Writers to want to go hitting with you. Having the keys simply added to your credibility and stature as a committed and dedicated leader of this "underground" culture. (In my case, my mother stole my keys
from me in 1975, and to this date has yet to return these to me)
d) gathering at major stations during rush hour in order to 'smell,' observe, photograph and celebrate a freshly-hit incoming train. (This daily triumphal ritual was one of the most fun aspects of the entire underground campaign.)
The NYCPD was not to be outdone. They countered with Detective Schwartz, an "anti-graffiti task force," razor barb wire, "rats," surveillance cameras, trained dogs, etc. Unfortunately for them,
this upping of the ante just made the whole game even more daring and exciting for those of us who were the most dedicated and truly commited to "becoming famous."
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT WE WON THE WAR!!
I say this because some of us did accomplish our original objective of becoming "famous" and although we may not have seen it coming at the time, something even more important and historic than "becoming famous" was taking shape.
I'm talking about the explosive phenomenon of the global acceptance
of Aerosol Art by youth everywhere!
Today, anywhere you go to on this planet, you find a new generation of writers doing their thing with lettering styles, colors, shapes, etc., also trying to be original and "become famous." But above all, enjoying the challenge of authority, the "us -vs- them" game, pretty much like we did 30 years ago in Brooklyn, NY.
I feel proud and lucky to have been a part of the Pioneering Generation of Aerosol Art in Brooklyn, NY., from 1970 - 1972.
In early 1973 I was voted in as a member of U.G.A. and attended the Queens College summer work program with the other members of the group. Having been associated with U.G.A. was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. Here I had a chance to learn about art and to appreciate it even more, how to stretch, prepare and care for canvas, travel and show my work in many parts of the world, and many other practical skills that I still use to this day. But the most fascinating thing that I learned at U.G.A. was to interact and collectively work with the other Masters of Writing, some of the most talented, caring and interesting human beings I have ever met.
I decided to retire from the public surfaces at Summer's end in 1975 upon realizing that it made more sense to paint on canvas and preserve my work and be able to show it at different venues worlwide. Of course, the biggest "loss" that I suffered as part of my retirement was that hard-to-explain feeling of spray painting on steel under the cover of night with the ever present thought that the man may not be too far away from you.
I would guesstimate that each Generation of Writers lasted two or so years, before a new "wave" of Writers jumped onto the scene to start a new Generation.
Times and Generations are a natural part of History. True History, however, never lies.
Today, unfortunately, some individuals who simply were not there, allege to have "started in the early 70's." Others call the 1980's movement "the old school."
This is sad. It's sad for those delusional individuals (they know who they are...) who are constantly trying to "bogart" their way into the history books with all kinds of desperate lying maneuvers in the hope of increasing the chances of marketability of their work in the 21st Century.
These Graffiti Prostitutes will sell their false souls to a book author or film maker because "that's what he wanted to hear."
All of a sudden these characters "started writing in 1969 -70" or did "political work" or were "king of this line or that line, or introduced this or that."
The fact of the matter is: they just weren't there or didn't do what they claim to have done. When you ask them to show you photographs or physical evidence of "all the great things they did on the NYC subways in the early 1970s," these clowns simply can not deliver.
Instead, they'll sow you a photograph of a piece done by someone else who was there, and will give you a coat tail-rider statement such as "I was a founding member or vice-president of this or that crew." (The Record should be clear that we didn't use the term "crew" in the early 70s.) This kind of behavior is unnecessary, unethical and fraudulent!
I suggest this because every Generation of Aerosol Artists that there ever was, is just as important as the one that followed it. This is a natural result of each Generation's own artistic merits and impact on society. Why confuse historians and the interested public with cheap, selfish lies?
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