Earlier this year, a battle was launched against the street food stall owners of Cuauht\u00e9moc, a popular borough in Mexico City. Under the guise of modernisation, the borough\u2019s mayor, Sandra Cuevas, ordered the removal of the hand-painted signage seen on the 1,500 stalls in the area. Gone were the vibrant graphics and unique signs, known as r\u00f3tulos, and in their place was a solid, dreary paint job with the Cuauht\u00e9moc municipal logo slapped over the top. Overnight, officials had literally wiped away decades\u2019 worth of tradition and design heritage.<\/p>\n
It was not only an attack on the stall owners, many of whom have operated their street food businesses for generations, but also the r\u00f3tulos artists who are responsible for these designs.<\/p>\n
The damage had been done, but Time Out and ad agency Grey M\u00e9xico worked out how the stalls could re-establish some of their graphic identity while still colouring within the lines. Cuevas\u2019 order outlined that the signs cannot be painted onto stalls, so Time Out and Grey turned to magnets instead, working with classic r\u00f3tulos artists to recreate the graphics as easily removable magnetic signs, which were then given to the vendors.<\/p>\n
Mauricio Guerrero, executive creative director of Grey M\u00e9xico, says that food stalls are the \u201cheart\u201d of Mexico City\u2019s culture and economy. He explains that these small food businesses \u2013 one of many kinds of street stalls in the city \u2013 are the main income for many people, where \u201cmore than half the population lives from informal jobs\u201d. However, he adds, \u201cfood stalls are facing extinction these days\u201d.<\/p>\n
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