'Graffiti Godfather' Cuba, Who Found His Home In The Mission, Dies At 57

San Francisco CA

14 November, 2021

2:04 PM

Description

By Eleni Balakrishnan, Mission Local November 13, 2021 Legendary Mission District graffiti artist Clarence "Cuba" Silas Robbs, a pioneer in graffiti writing known for bringing "Wildstyle" graffiti lettering to the Bay Area and painting hundreds of murals here, died on November 4. He was 57 years old. On Thursday, Cuba's fellow "Ex-Vandals" crew mates began painting a mural in his honor in Lilac Alley, where he and other alley "cats" could often be found painting the walls. Cuba painted the first mural in Lilac Alley in 2006 as the curator and co-founder of the Lilac Alley Mural Project, which eventually spread throughout other corridors in the neighborhood. Cuba was also a curator of graffiti works for the Clarion Alley Mural Project since its start in the early '90s, and worked on projects with the Precita Eyes Muralists, teaching younger generations how to write graffiti during the annual Urban Youth Arts Festival. In spite of his reputation, fellow artists and friends remember him as humble and kind. To read the full article, click here. Mission Local covers San Francisco from the vantage point of the Mission, a neighborhood with all of the promise and problems of a major city. You can support Mission Local here.