Jose Clemente Orozco
Mexican, (1883-1949)
Pulquería (Échate la Otra), 1928
lithograph, ed. 25/100
signed and numbered in pencil lower margin, framed.

Together with Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, Jose Clemente Orozco was part of the early 20th c. trio of Mexican Mural Renaissance painters who made literally massive works portraying the human condition on enormous walls across Mexico City and elsewhere. Of these three major painters, Orozco was the most complex, and he preferred to promote the poor, various workers and various types of peasants.

This lithograph shows caricatures of many Mexican men as they drink and dance in a town outside of a local bar (a pulquería, derived from the name of an alcoholic drink called 'pulque,' a fermented juice from the agave (maguey) plant). Orozco's studio was near a pulquería with a large sign over the door that read: Echate La Otra ("Have Another One"), which is clearly what these men are doing. They wear a mix of indigenous and Westernized clothing that symbolizes the mixed nature and heritage of Mexican people. They also wear costumes and conical hats or crowns clad with feathers and other sparkly objects; they are dancing during a feast day celebration/ procession or during a Carnival event. Their drinking and exaggerated facial features are characteristic of stereotypes of Mexican people explored by Orozco. The print demonstrates the artist's deep interest in local culture and the traditions of the Mexican people.
13 3/4 x 17 inches (visible)