El Meek
January 6, 2025
Ecatepec is an area in the Estado de Mexico considered to be one of the most violent municipalities to live in right now. For instance, feminicides have soared in recent years, making it one of the most unsafe places in Mexico to be a woman.
Ecatepec has been located within the 3 most dangerous places to live in Mexico, according to a poll conducted in June of 2022 by the national poll for urban public security (Encuesta Nacional de Seguridad Pública Urbana ).
Aside from those issues, Ecatepec is also Meek’s home and is where he started to paint graffiti when he was young.
He grew up very humbly and although he tragically lost his father at an early age, he always received love from his Mum and his sisters.
Despite such adversities, he was passionate about drawing to heal the pain. Nonetheless, it wasn’t until an uncle of his, who had served a long stint in prison in the United States for murder and who later returned to Mexico, taught Meek the basics of drawing. In the process, he used to inculcate in him the culture and values of the Chicano ( a person born in the United States from Mexican descent) culture and gang life.
At the same time, Meek was fortunate to grow up along the freight tracks where he got to see many ‘graffiti pieces rolling by from the United States and Canada. He remembers pulling out his note pad to copy pieces made by graffiti writers such as Worm, Erupto, Revok, Mber, etc. and subsequently study the shapes and angles. He also remembers seeing many immigrants travelling atop trains.
Meek would occasionally throw rocks at them as a way to defend his turf, though at times he showed some compassion for them. He recalls how he helped two migrants who were in terrible shape once. He and a friend housed them and fed them until they were fit again to continue their long journey.
Even though Meek was interested in traditional graffiti, his motivation in graffiti actually came from representing his Mexican roots and the Chicano culture that he learned from his uncle. Meek adds, ‘I like to put the name of my country high up through my art work’.
Parallel to Meek’s development as a graffiti writer he was beginning to learn about gangs and later on became the member of the South Side 13 click. He explains that it was important to belong to a gang where he lived and continues, ‘If you didn’t belong to a gang you were nothing. Unity is power and if, as a kid, you were not affiliated to a group you could be at serious risk’.
He recalls that at a young age, far less opportunities to develop existed. That’s why the alternative to boredom was becoming affiliated to a gang. Meek literally recounts how he used to go out all the time to rob people in order to please his habits.
He doesn’t agree that graffiti can save you from violence. Meek points out that if, for instance, you cross someone else’s tag or mural you could face violent consequences that in some cases could lead to death.
As life carried on and it got more complicated and dangerous he decided to migrate to the United States.
From a young age, he had a fascination to travel to California given that his uncle had told him many beautiful things about life over there. Meek was also interested in escaping his violent surroundings to experience new cultures and learn new things…
His first crossing into the United States happened through Tucson, Arizona. When he arrived on the other side, he was locked in a safe-house for about a month until someone paid for his rescue.
The pay eventually came thanks to a family member and Meek was freed.
He travelled to Tampa Bay, Florida where he remained for 3 years until he was forced to return due to a severe illness.
He stayed 5 months in Mexico until he decided to do the journey once again. This time, he crossed through Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas with his friend Armando.
Both, in the company of a small group of people and a Coyote who charged them a sum of $1,500 dollars approximately each, walked through the desert for 5 days. In the process, they encountered many intricacies. For instance, Armando reached a critical point whereby his feet were so badly hurt that he wasn’t able to continue. He told Meek to leave him behind though Meek knew that if he remained in the desert he would die. He carried him for the rest of the journey until they reached San Antonio, Texas where they were locked in a safe-house for 5 days until someone bailed them out and were eventually dropped off at a petrol station.
Meek felt a great liberation after realising that they were in the United States of America at last.
While living there, he says that he did not paint much graffiti given that the law was pretty strict. It was especially tough with gangs, so he maintained a low profile to avoid any problems. He recalls, however, that he once painted a truck outside his job. His boss identified the spray marks and sacked him on the spot; even the police turned up, took pictured of the damage and filed the incident.
Overall, Meek felt much freer in the United States than back home. Despite the fact that he was an illegal immigrant he felt as an American citizen. He was extremely grateful to the people he met and felt much more solidarity then in Mexico. In fact, his boss, who was from the UK had a huge appreciation for Meek’s hard work.
After 7 years of living in the United States he decided to return to Mexico as he did not see himself living a full life in there. Meek had come to the realisation of his dream and felt it was time to leave. He also wanted to go back to be with his Mum whom he missed so much.
He makes an analysis on the situation in Ecatepec and says that the levels of violence are extremely high right now. The marines and federal police have been deployed to patrol the streets but he reckons that things have not changed much. For example, feminicides occur, he argues, because there are many rapists and sexual predators who torture and kill woman for the sake of it. He has seen women’s cadavers floating in the polluted river next to his house and it would appear as if nobody gives a damn about it. The authorities simply turn a blind eye to the problem and meanwhile, the mystery of such killings continues…
Human rights do not exist here, ‘We live in the wild, wild west, he remarks. One needs to look out for one’s self as safety is not guaranteed by the local authorities. Equally, he feels that he is living under warfare because the army and helicopters fly at all times; this generates paranoia and a feeling of fear in him.
Shifting gears, Meek talks about Trump and adds, ‘the United States belongs to the native Americans like the Comanches, the Navajos, Seminoles and the Cherokees, etc. Notwithstanding this, he believes that Americans are good people and they will help you. They are friendly and educated unlike Mexicans who tend to be much more violent.
If he had the opportunity to talk to president Trump, he would tell him that he is wrong in wanting to divide us since we have always coexisted side by side.
Art symbolises existence to him, ‘it’s the evidence that I live in this damn world’, he points out.
Graffiti is a form of expression that allows him to talk about aspects of his life. It is a way to let your heart speak for you. His vocation is strictly about developing letter forms. He sees letters as characters that are brought to life when painted on walls. Parallel to that, he likes to add details like spikes to them as his intention is to make them look violent and mean. Currently he associates his graffiti to Satanism as that is what he believes in…
