Lo CURA Hidalgo [1]

Hidalgo the curate becomes Hidalgo the madman. Presented as part of the urban event "La ira y el deseo" (Ire and Desire), 2010

The image of the Founding Father is given an ironic twist.
Transformed from Hidalgo the curate to Hidalgo the madman (lo cura).

But this time he doesn’t cure, rather he represents the madness, a war of narco-dependence, with 28,000 dead in the last four years of the administration
He roams the streets begging for a new independence:
“It might be only change, but that’s what this country needs most: CHANGE”

We’ll have true independence when every Mexican can get to the end of the month,
(so as not to say the end of the day) with something in their belly.

Lo Cura Hidalgo came to life during the urban event “La ira y el deseo” (Ire and Desire), organized by the visual artist Antonio Ortiz Gritón to counter the trivial official celebrations the Bobierno reFederal organized around the BIcentennial. [2]

Since then, Lo Cura Hidalgo has appeared at different demonstrations and marches against the abuses of poorly made government decisions, against educastration and in favor of free education.

Photos: Jorge Morales Moreno
Makeup: Jorge Siller

[1] Original phrase: El Cura Hidalgo, meaning Father Hidalgo. The noun cura means father, priest; but it’s also a verb to mean to cure. The artist induces a phonetic game of having Father Hidalgo Cure You, or in the artist’s words Lo Cura Hidalgo. Hidalgo will father you, will cure you.

[2] Federal Government organized for the Bicentennial.