Santo Sr. Walverde

Linoleum block print in the style of the Taller Graìfica Popular. Handmade paper sheet is approx. 14.75 x 11 in. ; impression is 10 x 7 in. Very good overall, with light marginal soiling and handling marks. Loose as issued. [1348]

In the folklore of Sinaloa, Jesús Malverde is revered as a bandit saint, watching over the poor. His is especially popular among lower-level traffickers caught up in the violent struggle of of the Mexican drug trade. While there is no evidence that Malverde lived, his legend is vitally important to the local culture of the regional highland. Every year on the anniversary of his death, a party is held at Malverde's shrine. According to a fascinating text on Malverde by scholar Patricia L. Price, "Narcotrafickers have strategically used Malverde's image as a 'generous bandit' to spin their own images as Robin Hoods of sorts, merely stealing from rich drug-addicted gringos and giving some of their wealth back to their Sinaloa hometowns, in the form of schools, road improvements, community celebrations." (Dry Place. Univ. Minnesota, 2004). The present print is very scarce in the commerce and we can find no copies of it in institutional holdings.