In a city famous for street artists, El Bocho is one of the most well-known.

His recurring characters painted on paper and then pasted on walls—such as “Tina Berlina” or his Citizens series— have been well-documented, and show up all over Berlin. Having arrived here via Frankfurt from his native Spain, El Bocho—whose name translates from Mexican as “little donkey”—manages to keep his true identity secret, despite his numerous gallery exhibitions all over the globe, full participation in the art world and easy engagement with the press. While he takes a pragmatic view of the art market and his role in it, that doesn’t prevent El Bocho from taking a political stand. His work in public spaces spans a number of different themes—including playfulness and romance, respectively, in the aforementioned pieces—with dedicated series addressing topics such as increased violence, in this case adapted to resemble public notices. A street artist with a conscience isn’t new, but being able to delineate so many different facets of an artist solely by their work is always fascinating. The diversity of his projects make El Bocho a person, not just a street art myth.