Documents of 20th-century Latin American and Latino Art

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Synopsis

In this brief excerpt from his autobiography, José Clemente Orozco describes his stay in Orizaba during the Mexican revolution. Of interest is Orozco’s mention of Dr. Atl, whom he refers to as a friend and as the founding father of the revolutionary newspaper La Vanguardia, which was published for a very short period of time. Orozco names the people responsible for each section of the paper. He also writes about the war and the resulting devastation, but lightens the bleak narrative by weaving in vignettes describing what he and his colleagues were doing in Orizaba during that time.

Annotations

The Revista Mexicana de Cultura was the cultural supplement published on Sundays by the daily El Nacional. This particular issue was devoted to the memory of José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949). It is interesting to note that this excerpt from his autobiography reveals his very close links to the Mexican Revolution, and focuses specifically on those historic events. Orozco describes some of his experiences and mentions a few of the important people of the time, in this case naming those who were involved in La Vanguardia, the newspaper created by Dr. Atl in Orizaba (Veracruz) that tended to endorse the constitutional theories espoused by the oncoming president Venustiano Carranza. Although Orozco doesn’t refer to it in so many words, the horrors of the revolution—which he saw during his time in Orizaba—made a lasting, painful impression on him. It wasn’t until later that he was able to express those experiences in his paintings.   For more on this subject, see doc. 735365. For more on Orozco’s autobiography, see the following documents: 793221, 796158, 796183, and 796164.  The upper left hand corner of this article is torn.

Researcher
María Fernanda Arochi : CURARE A.C.
Team
CURARE, Espacio crítico para las artes, Mexico City, Mexico
Credit
© 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City, Mexico
Location
Instituto de Investigaciones Bibliográficas : Biblioteca Nacional/Hemeroteca Nacional