Cortes y la malinche

2005 - Drawing & Print (Drawing & Print)

9H x 3W inches

Dr. Lakra

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Like many of Dr. Lakra’s works, Cortes y la malinche is a drawing done on a found vintage magazine page. The text at the bottom of the page, “reclinandose inocentemente sobre el regazo de Hernan-Cortés,” translates to, “reclining innocently in the lap of Hernan Cortés,” and refers to the Spanish conquistador who brought down the Aztec empire. Malinche was a native Mexican who served both as Cortés’s translator in both the Mayan and Aztec languages, as well as his lover. Malinche, whose name now suggests disloyalty, appears here adorned in tattoos added by Dr. Lakra.

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The Oaxacan artist Dr. Lakra (Jeronimo Lope Ramirez) draws on his experience as a tattooist to make works on found objects or images. This marking mimics the process and motifs found in his tattoos, like pin-up girls, dolls and skulls that combine Day of the Dead imagery with the aesthetics of Mad magazine, criminal culture, and comic books.

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Colors:

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• cortes.n.01
• tattoo.n.02
• reclaim.v.02
• aztec.n.01
• mexico.n.01
• conquistador.n.01
• appropriation art
• calligraphic
• collage
• collective history
• mexican
• mexican contemporary artists