Fileteado Porteño

Fileteado is a type of artistic drawing, with stylised lines and flowered, climbing plants typically used in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is used to adorn all kind of beloved objects, signs, taxis, lorries and even the old Colectivos, Buenos Aires’ buses.

Filetes (the lines in Fileteado style) are usually full of colored ornaments and symmetries completed with poetic phrases, sayings and aphorisms, both humorous or roguish, emotional or philosophical. They have been part of the culture of the Porteños (inhabitants of Buenos Aires) since the beginnings of the 20th century.*

*Wikipedia

This kind of artistic drawing has adorned the city of Buenos Aires for ages. Every bus, every taxi, and every local restaurant would be adorned with this beautiful drawings. This beautiful adornment technique started at the beginning of the twentieth century in Horse Carriages Factories. A few years later, this technique evolved in a sociocultural language with which messages where communicated throughout the city. Buses, restaurants, signs, they were all made with this technique.

During the 1970’s Argentina went through a military government which prohibited adornments in public transport. Nowadays, there’s very few original buses left.

Nowadays, there’s two big masters of the Fileteo I would say: Alfredo Genovese and Martiniano Arce. These two Porteños have mastered the technique for years and are now world known for their pristine work.