Variations colorees d'une pratique mondialisee: L'appropriation culturelle du graffiti hip-hop a Montreal et a Sao Paulo

I propose to examine the local appropriation of hip-hop graffiti, a transnational youth expression, that originated in the East-Coast of the United States, through a micro and a macro perspective applied to a multi-site ethnography of hip-hop graffiti in two cities of the Americas, Montreal (Canada) and Sao Paulo (Brazil), among, respectively, French and Portuguese speaking graffiti artists.;Based on this double-leveled analysis, I shall (1) describe the similarities and differences between the hip-hop graffiti scene in Montreal and Sao Paulo; (2) identify key elements of the process of cultural appropriation; and (3) reexamine the notion that globalization results in cultural homogenization.;Keywords. Anthropology; Ethnology; Globalization; Homogenization; Americanization; Graffiti artist; Graffer; Quebec; Canada; Brazil.;The micro level analysis will focus on the creative process by which graffiti artists combine imitation and transformation; and the macro perspective will bring into relief the complex ensemble of dimensions which influences the appropriation process in a given locality.