Greetings from Brazil,
My research is going very well. I am glad to have someone that knows the city well and can help me get around. It has certainly reduced the learning curve. The only drawbacks are that right now is the rainy season and the sun sets around 6pm. This just means I take an umbrella and go out earlier when I do daily observations. I was fortunately able to get the geotagging camera I mentioned in my proposal. It is an excellent tool and allows me to keep track of where graffiti is in the city. I'm already noticing some trends in terms of where it is located. There is even a neighborhood (Rio Vermelho [Red River]) where a lot of graffiti/street art is concentrated.