El Requiem

Orozco published this print as part of a series, "Mexico in Revolution" to supplement his income while living in New York. This series was originally entitled "Horrores de la Revolución" (Horrors of the Revolution). However, he chose to rename the suite and select less violent images for his New York audience. El Requiem illustrates Orozco's contempt for war. Instead of romanticizing the Mexican Revolution's glorious moments, he dwells on its devastating emotional and psychological impact. Orozco's Mexico is not a triumphant, unified nation; rather it is a land of people struggling to survive in the shadow of violence and oppression. In both prints, Orozco depicts anonymous, timeless figures burdened by crippling grief. His roughly sketched lines and heavy shading reinforce the universal feelings of isolation and agony. While his subject is the Mexican Revolution, Orozco's depictions of human suffering transcend national, political, and temporal boundaries.