Ballad of Don Chapulín (Corrido de Don Chapulín)

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Ballad of Don Chapulín (Corrido de Don Chapulín)

Mexico, Mexico City, 1940
Prints; lithographs
Lithograph
Sheet: 13 3/8 × 9 3/8 in. (33.97 × 23.81 cm)
Gift of Jules and Gloria Heller (M.2003.92.3)
Not currently on public view

Provenance

Taller de Gráfica Popular, Mexico City, 1940; Dr. Jules Heller (1919–2007), Scottsdale, Arizona, 1947; LACMA, 2003.

Label

The corrido (ballad) was a favorite narrative device in TGP broadsides.

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The corrido (ballad) was a favorite narrative device in TGP broadsides. Artists combined satirical images with the folk storytelling technique, using humor to address harsh political realities. The Corrido de Don Chapulín warns farmers against exploitation: Don Chapulín (Mr. Grasshopper), a pest that threatens farmers’ crops and livelihood, is a metaphor for the corrupt middleman. The TGP also used corrido broadsides to commemorate the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), creating calaveras (animated skeletons) to illustrate current events. The formats of the corrido and calavera continued graphic traditions popularized by José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913).


From exhibition Pressing Politics: Revolutionary Graphics from Mexico and Germany, 2022.
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Exhibition history

  • Pressing Politics: Revolutionary Graphics from Mexico and Germany Los Angeles, CA, Charles White Elementary School, October 29, 2022 - July 22, 2023