Whoa…did I make it on the latin network? Univision interview airing on Thursday morning nationwide over 100+ cities. ( “Despierta America” 7am-10am Channel 41) Many of us grew up with this channel because our abuelas, mamis, and tias watched their novelas, our abuelitos, papis, and tios caught the futbol. Occasionally we all sat around to watch that silly man Don Francisco on Sabado Gigante too. My family has come a long way. This one is for you Papito lindo!

Shout out to Meres at 5Pointz for letting me rock the interview session and do a little live painting for the piece. THANK YOU! and big ups to Shana Louallen for rocking the PR and taking behind the scenes flicks:)

Gracias Linda y Cesar! The interview was lovely. Can’t wait to see it! eeeeek….

Finding it hard to put this post together…I don’t even know where to begin. Last week I lost my grandfather, our papito Raul. We flew back to Ecuador heartbroken…to say goodbye. A part of all of us feels empty, and we can’t help but fill it up with tears. I’m going to miss our talks, his little laugh chuckles, his silly jokes, his words of advice, and most of all…watching him gear up to build, climb, and fix things. As the days pass we are comforted by the beautiful memories he left behind when we flip through boxes and boxes of photographs. We are all so thankful for everything he strived for so that his family can have a happy, and loving home. Our lives are blessed because of you, and we will honor your life in all we do. Estrañadole mucho papito lindo de nuestro corazon…

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YO SUN.

Back from our little NYC winter break. Even though it was a little cold in Los Angeles during our trip, we made the best of every rain drop, and every hoodie we brought along. When the sun did come out, we made sure to soak in every last shot of vitamin D. Ahhhh….the life…

Baking under the sun with our girl Izzy Izms. Special hostess with the mostess for the week. Sending a big fraggie thank youuuuu!!! ((( WE LOVE YOU KID )))

Our first day was pretty cloudy,  but we geared up and headed downtown for some street art strolls to get our juices flowing…

Brotha from anotha flick time…

Iphoto photoshoot? Why not, strike a pose Izzy!

Them walls got us amped. We caught the painting bug, so we hit up the nearest home depot for some $4 cans…

then stopped by Crewest for the good stuff! Montana 94′s my fave. Missed kicking it with Man One though;( but caught a nice little exhibit called “THINGS THAT GET BUFFED”

I loved those paintings!

Couldn’t hit up any walls that day because is started to rain so we went for a Silverlake noodle run. Rainy days are perfect for Pho! Mmmmmm….

Before we called it a rainy night, we went to support our boy Marka for his Mini Gods release at SIXHUNDRED…

Congratulations!!! Love those little guys, I need to get one…

VENICE BEACH ACTION…

The rain finally took a break! It was sunny skies the rest of the week. Thank you mother nature;) We linked up with our gal DJ Moni for brunch and sipped on some bellini’s! YUM. Shout out to our fraggie friend Mike who was away on a film shoot;( LA moves kid!!! Get em’…

las tres amigas ready to chow down…

Can’t go wrong with the Eggs Benedict with spinach! @ 3rd Sq Cafe on Abbot Kinney Blvd…

It turned into a beautiful day to paint and hang with friends;)

My first time painting on a beach, and I LOVED IT!!! Felt so good to paint under the sun, and catch some beach breeze. This is a great spot to paint on the weekend. Just speak to hommie who runs the location, sign an agreement form, and it’s all gooooood in the hood…

Some places are just funky fresh!

Vee got down on the action and rocked an ACB piece of a throwie he’s been working on. It was fun to do our little collabo on some chillax tip, no pressure, just fun…

Got a chance to sneak in a mini interview for a women graffiti video in the works…The universe works in mysterious ways…

Shout out to our friends Marco and Daffodil who came through to kick it and sip on some coronas. GOOD TIMES!!!

TOOFLY, ACB, & VEE. Venice Beach, CA 2011

Who’s hungry!!!?

After a fun day under the sun, we reunited with our girl Moni. She whipped us hungry artists a home cooked meal from scratch! WHAT…It was delicious. Thank you Moniiiiiiiii!

Big ups to everyone that pulled through for the communal grub, and got our activist hearts pumping again. You guys are truly ((( INSPIRING ))) individuals, and as a collective oooooh watch out!

12 DEEP…

New Yorker grooves, and moves…

We were on a roll, and our mission: Party till you drop! Got on the guest list for the 12th anniversary of the Deep party at Vanguard, and hit the dance floor. Partied with some of our favorite NY DJ’s Dj Spinna, and Rich Medina;)

Long weekend indeed. Day 2 and it felt like I had been here a week!

Rebel nights…

MR CARTOON…

As we mellowed out from our crazy party night, we hooked up with our hommie Victor who gave us a little tour through Mr Cartoon’s studio and shop…

Estevan Oriol, and Mr Cartoon flicks on the shop’s wall…nice….

I love Cali style;)

Big ups to Mr Cartoon for his persistent work on his illustration craft, and giving back to the community through youth art workshops and mural projects. It was great to finally meet in person;) thanks for the introduction Victor!

STREET STROLLZ…

Last few days we took a chill pill cuz our peeps had to get back to work so we went for some cappi shopping on Abbot Kinney blvd…

Oh snap. What you know about spicy fruta? Coconut, Watermelon, Cucumber, Mango, and picante baby!

Hooked up with our boy Johnny and his lovely wife who were also in town from NY. We did a double dip to the wall, mahi mahi tacos, and skater flicks…

I-phone flick by Vee Bravo. Good one kid! I stole it…

One thing I did miss out on was a beach sunset. I will catch it one day though. Till then I can admire the flicks by other photographers. This is a dope one. www.venicebeachpictures.com

THANK YOU!!!

Sending a special thanks to everyone who pulled through to share a little LA time with us. We felt super welcomed, and happy to be around all of you talented and positive beings! To our hommies who have moved to LA, we miss you dearly! We are super proud of you, and wish you all the best in the city of angels. They are lucky to have YOU. Con mucho amor, y gracias por ser los QUERIDOS HOMMIES;)

Busy season seems to be getting here sooner than years before which leaves me scrambling for personal time. All I wanna do during winter is focus on what I love to do. My own shit!!! It’s all good, I’m gonna make sure I drop some dope pieces by spring. Here’s a sneak peek at a new design I’m working on. No fonts, and no shortcuts here. If you wanna be skilled at your craft, and respected for your original flows you gotta put in the time. Get busy creating from the heart or get busy wasting away the spirit that gives you meaning. I remember the days I spent hours and hours in my room drawing and painting before the computer moved in and did a Speedy Gonzales on me. I haven’t been the same since. Luckily I stayed on top of my traditional tools, and it saved my life. You won’t ever find me blending in to the collage of garbage that’s put out on the daily. Nope. The more we stay true to ourselves, the more we enjoy life and give life. That my friends is where the true gems exist.

Marker hand styles, by yours truly…

Ready for print…

Happy New Year!!! Sorry I’m late. Back from visiting my querida familia in sunny Florida, and fighting of a cold;( It’s a tunes, tea, and thoughts kind of weekend as I catch up with my bloggy blog. Even though as you get older the Holidays take a wacky turn for us adults, it’s still super nice to get together with my whole family and watch the kids smile as they open their presents. This year aunt mimi decorated everything from the tree, to the gifts. It was lovely! Grandma made her special Ecuadorian dish, and we got on our purple Prince fun with “Let’s Go Crazy” as the ball dropped. I love my family! Not a day goes by that I give thanks that they are all well, and I can watch my little cousins grow up. Especially when they are around an amazing group of creative, funny, and loving individuals;)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

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OMG, In love with Prince all over again. Shout out to Marlon for hooking my hommie T, and I with tickets. It was an awesome and very purple night. Even the Empire State building was purple. Prince is still sexy as ever…aow!

Prince concert December 29, 2010, Madison Square Garden. NYC
I’m so happy he played all my faves!!!

Shout out to everyone that came thru yesterday for the Invisible Instructions opening! I’m getting my flicks ready so you can check out the process from beginning to end…

Welcome to the behind the scenes of Invisible Instructions…

Our hommie Leilani helping us keep on point with our deadlines. Thanks for all your help girl you ROCK.

Cern rocking some touch ups on his little funky birds which I love so much…

a little to the right…a  little to the left…up, down…where’s that red light thingy! lol

Your almost there Cole…it’s gonna be allright…

It’s looking great guys!

Dumpling House anyone?

This year Halloween fell on a weekend! Yeah yeah baby it’s not a party until you go all out and paint yo face. Shout out to my hommie Little Alex for rock’n the crews make-up this year. Good times:)

Nail action and all…

Who’s next?

References…

Alex Medussa and her Boo!

Take a guess…

It’s just me and my 99 cent roses…

Alex Medussa, Veedel Castro, and Tooflowers

Dope:) Thanks for the make-up Alex!!!

Ready to get our creepy freaky night on!

Ricardo’s Halloween house jam with DJ itunes!

Vinyl lives 4ever…

Videl Castro what’s the status?

Ricardo Cortes artwork on walls. Awesome.

The freaks come out at night.

Dress up, paint your face, have fun. Happy Halloween!!!

Till next year!

As I approached the third and final stage of my trip I  finally decided on the message I wanted to convey on my last piece. I’m big on experiences. They help guide you throughout your life. Giving you signs as you build up your intuition. Each moment and person I come in contact with is a chance to understand the world and help create the necessary links. It’s all about the bigger picture,  if you believe it to be so. I was extremely happy that my ecua friends have become full on organizers and wonderful human beings. I enjoyed watching them put together an arts and culture event that is sure to grow and inspire their community year after year. All for the love of Hip Hop, and for the love of their pueblo. I was also particularly proud of the chance I had to show my grams and gramps what this is all about! Especially since they had the opportunity to see it come full circle in the land of their ancestors. So even though things got a little crazy in the motherland the day hate erupted like a volcano the opportunity to look at it’s ugly face proved yet again to all who was watching that it solved nothing. Disappointed and embarrassed one can only learn and change which is always good. The only revolution I believe in is LOVE & PEACE!

So the “peace” piece begins. The wall is located in Quito on a street called La Patagonia. The house where my mother was raised, and where I grew up before coming to the states. I decided to go full on latex this time because I can’t stand the spray paint. In the end though using brushes for a large mural was not as fun. ha! It was a nice try, but I’m an aerosol lover.

Ohhhh shit….what you know about librillo? This lady has been feeding the neighborhood her infamous librillo dish for 35+ years! Sweet little lady she allowed me to photograph her as she told her story. She sells about 15 dishes of this stuff in one trip to the patagonia and is done with her day and her living off this stuff. Librillo with potatoes and aji is one of  my favorite native ecuadorian soup dishes:)

Papito knows wasup. He needed to get the energy necessary to get his day on the roof started…

He’s always up to something en la casa del sur. He’s gotta be the ultimate bob the builder type of pop…lol

This street hasn’t changed in all 25+ years. My cousin Nancy and I played as little pasposita girls here just like all them little kids that were running up, and down the block while I was painting. While on a break and snacking on mandarins I began to think about how good these little kids had it. 5-6 years old playing and running around without any parent supervision. Happy and free. Parents in the states leash their kids up at that age just to walk on the streets! It’s a funny thing thing when you stop to notice these things…

after all the thinking I was doing about what life is like en el sur, I took a nap under the sun while my grandma knitted her little doily’s. She’s so cute!

Once my grandpa finished fixing the roof he came down to help me prep the old wall I did back in…2005! whoa that was a while ago…

Then it was hours and hours of brush work…

with a handmade ladder! made by gramps…

11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm…raindrops…

The hommies Diego and Disfraz who live near by came through to show some love before the rain rushed us out. Shout out to Barrio 593 for the 2 page interview and poster! The mag looks dope…and so does the design to their latest album release. I’m so proud of ya!!!

MUGRE SUR!

That rain turned into Graniso! I haven’t seen ice rain fall since I was like 6. I wish I would have had a cup I would have ate them little ice pebbles up!

but I settled for a rainy day of humitas con cafe and some some choclo con queso y avas! OMG…so good…native food is sooooOooooo gooood….

Thankfully one day before my flight back to NY and the day after all the madness the country went through I was able to get most of the piece done. Whew…and so it is…
“El Pueblo De La Paz” by Toofly. Quito, Ecuador 2010

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix

Running a little behind on my posts. In the middle of a move to a new apt. Finally got a chance to go through the rest of my flicks and the yummyest part of my trip. After I got my ecua grub on, and painted with the hommies, my grandparents and I hit the road to one of my favorite places, Baños. This little town is known for it’s hot & cold volcanic thermal springs which is said to be good for your health. Baños is about 3-4 hrs from Quito and makes a great road trip. The views are amazing!

Sweet treat. Got to see the Cotopaxi volcano on our way down the road once the clouds cleared up…

The roads were a bit screwed up this time round due to an increase in gringo eco-tourism. Took a few bumpy side roads as we approached the village…

This cow artist dude is everywhere…He should make stickers…

I did some research before my trip and found a lovely little hotel called LA LUNA RUNTUN located way up in the mountains overlooking Baños. The view is priceless! I decided this will be my travel gift to my Papitos…

I love small hotels. They are so much cozier…

Room 56 was perfect. Just how I like it, and no TV! If you come here be prepared to hang with nature, and simplicity…

I could so live here…or a place like this…far far away from the city…

At last made it to PARDISE! The volcanic pools overlooking the top of the mountains were beautiful…

Pure bliss…

My Papitos loved it. Spending time with them is always a sweet old time. They love taking trips, and discovering new places too. These two are down for everything! Lucky for them they can come here whenever they want…

A little peace and quiet helps clear the mind…

and them little piña coladas in the bubbly hot tub make you silly!

Good times!

After some long hours in the pool, we took the party to the Cafe del Cielo for some crepes and cafesito. Yum.

The view here was nice too. Beautiful day, beautiful night…

Stole this flick from the website cuz after dinner at the Runtun restaurant which was delicious… I took a nap, and didn’t wake up;( Lol! I felt so relaxed from the warm water I passed out as soon as I hit the pillow. Of course I missed the pool night shots I wanted so bad…

GOOD MORNING LUNA RUNTUN! After some cafesito con pan we were ready to hit the road again…

We vid our farewells to the volcanic pools we enjoyed so much, and promised to return to this beautiful place with the rest of the familia…

Down the swirly roads of the mountain we went…and with each passing hour the roads got hotter and hotter as we got deeper and deeper into the amazon…

It got hot! We had some fried fish with tostones, and then took a walk down the river…

life by the river is freedom at it’s best. The kids were playing and jumping off the rocks. I was clicking away my last shots before my battery gave out…

mama cumita was collecting rocks…

papito was reading the comercio…

and I was just taking it all in. Happiness in the most simplest of forms.

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.  ~Lillian Smith

I’m off to the motherland! It’s been a minute since I’ve been back to the land I call my country. The place that gave me life, and where so much of my native roots still lay undiscovered.  I hope one day I can call this place home again, reconnect, and build my own little natural paradise far far away from city life. Until then it’s all about spending some quality time with my grandparents, painting some walls with my Ecua hommies, and taking a trip up, down, and around the mountains to the paradise of Mindo. I can’t wait!

Virgen del Panecillo, Quito Ecuador

Rain or Shine! Toofly Birthday Chillax. Luckily there was no tornadoes, no rain whew…

Last minute b-day planning called for a chillaxed celebration this year. Gathered the troops to the East River Bar in the south side of Brooklyn where DJ Jill de Bushwick was spinning classics, classic style! Strictly wax baby. She rocked it! Always happy to let things unfold organically. Wow, what a cute spot! I had not been here before this night. They got plenty of room to dance, chill, chat, and backyard access with a graffed up taco truck to get your little grub on. This place was just perfect. Thanks Jill!!! Big thanks to my virgo twin Millie Millzzz who also celebrated her bornday. Wow them pastelitos and strawberry dip was yummy thank you! Your such a sweety pie;) Big ups to my fam, and peeps for coming through and sharing your love with us. Your friendship after all these years is priceless. We are all truly blessed to have friends we can say yeoooo….we go way back! AWWWWW I LOVE YOU ALL & THANK YOU!!!

Where my ladies at?

Where the fellas at? Bearing “street art” gifts for the tooflowers?

LOl! Leave it up to the fellas to get creative with their gifts. Thank youuuuu guyyyyyys….

silly vandalz!

Oh shit this place is so lovely…..

What do you think Oli? { sign of approval }

Oh snap! Dj Jill de Bushwick on the 1 & 2′s spinning the best of classics, classic style! Something about straight up vinyl. No laptops. No digital media. Just good old skillz and great music;) Loved it…

((( music.love.happiness )))

THE ORIGINAL WILLIAMSBURG LOCALS. That’s right! This is their hood don’t get it twisted…

Speaking of twisted…

Round 10!

This is where the photos start to get funky….

and naughty…lol!

We should come here for Bingo!

Pool, tacos, happy hour…you know GOOD TIMES!!! Why not?

Live it up!!!

Enjoy your life!

Right senõr Kel?

KELINDOS! Hey I think that’s your new name LMAO!

Y mi little linda, Little ALex. BFF 4Life!

I love you guys!Your friendship means the world to me:)

LOL!

Alright babe. I see that look in your eye. It’s time to gOOoooooo…

Wait. Gotta leave a little slice of TF art…

Here’s to a new year of life on this here planet earth. (( Thankful ))) Where love, happiness, and good people surround those who want it, and want to give it with honest hearts and good intentions. It’s simple. Enjoy life whenever possible. Do it with love, do it with care, do it because you know you can’t live without all these beautiful beings, and priceless gifts;)

I love NY! Especially when you stop to notice it’s beauty once in a while. Makes me forget all the rotten things it does during the day when it’s all lit up. Anyway…on this night the skies were clear and the breeze was one of those perfect temperatures. Not too cold, not too hot, just right. Spent some good ol’ quality time with the love of my life. Resting from the daily grind, and reminiscing about the crazy shit we’ve been through all these years. I feel blessed to have just about all I really need these days. Especially someone I can share beautiful nights like this with and just be me, Maria…

One love, one love…

Happy 15th year anniversary my love!!!