Lisette Correa, ‘Arrrtaddict’

Painting Atlanta in Bold Colors

By Daniela Cintron

Published May 22, 2025
Last Updated May 23, 2025

If you’ve ever wandered along the Atlanta Beltline or passed through Little Five Points and found yourself gazing at a mural bursting with color, culture and unmistakable sazón, chances are you’ve stumbled upon the work of Lisette Correa, better known by her artist name, Arrrtaddict.

“I just want people to feel joy,” she says. “The color, the vibrancy — it’s therapy. It’s culture. It’s rebellion. It’s us.”

(Photo by Lola Scott, courtesy of @arrrtaddict)

Born in Fort Lauderdale with roots in Patillas and Bayamón, Correa’s life has been shaped by both movement and memory. From New York to Los Angeles, and now Atlanta, each stop has added depth to her art and sharpened her sense of self as a Boricua in the diaspora.

“My family is loud, proud and deeply Puerto Rican,” she says. “I think Nuyoricans have a whole different passion for the island. Because we’re not physically there, we scream it even louder.”

Her upbringing was a beautiful mezcla of Spanglish conversations, salsa rhythms, freestyle beats and soul classics. “I was raised in a house filled with love and flavor — literal and figurative sazón,” she laughs. “Puerto Rican, yes, but also East Coast soul, South Florida color and a little punk from my New York days.”

After a decade in the Los Angeles fashion industry, Correa longed for something deeper, something closer to her roots. Her mother had relocated to Atlanta, and each holiday visit planted a seed. Eventually, the city became her home.

“The heart is where your mother is,” she says. “But I also started to see how Puerto Rican culture here in Atlanta was growing. And I wanted to be part of that growth to help shape it.”

Shape it she has. Correa’s murals are now scattered across the city from Krog Street Tunnel to Little Five Points and, most notably, on the Beltline, where her powerful tribute “Somos Boricuas” is displayed.

That mural’s unveiling drew more than 800 Puerto Ricans to the site, transforming Atlanta into a Caribbean block party for the day. “It felt like the Puerto Rican Day Parade but in Atlanta,” she says, eyes lighting up.

Being Boricua, for her, is a full-body, full-spirit experience. It pulses through her art, her voice and her community organizing. During the pandemic, she dove deeper into cultural storytelling, centering the history of the Taínos, Puerto Rico’s indigenous people. “We talk so little about that part of our heritage,” she says. “But it’s full of strength, beauty and resistance — there were women chiefs, cacicas. That’s revolutionary.”

Correa’s work will dress up the Atlanta float at the 2025 National Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan, New York. Her work blends tradition with pop culture, inspired by Atlanta’s own flair.“ I thought, housewives, peaches, acrylic nails. But I made it Boricua,” she says, describing a Taína figure with long nails decked out in Puerto Rican designs. “It’s Atlanta and Puerto Rico in one.”

The through line in all her work is visibility and pride. Whether through public art, her sold-out Champion collaboration or her art featured on Atlanta’s Puerto Rican Day Parade float, Correa’s mission is clear: uplift, educate and celebrate.

“I remember lying on the couch after the Champion event and telling my friend: “The coolest thing I did tonight was not the show, not the hoodie drop. It’s that I get to be Puerto Rican every day.”

That, for her, is the ultimate flex.

Meet other Puerto Rican creatives in Atlanta.

Daniela is the content manager and bilingual editor for Discover Atlanta. As an award-winning bilingual journalist, she is passionate about shinning light on untold stories about culture, food and Atlanta.