Art and Literature of Tepito
"Conozca México, visite Tepito" (Know Mexico, Visit Tepito) was an exposition that occurred in September 1973 and gave rise to the "Tepito Arte Acá" (Tepito Art Here) movement. This led to the establishment of three art galleries in the neighborhood in the 1950s, with only the José María Velasco Gallery surviving to the present day. This gallery is located on Peralvillo 55 a few meters from Matamoros Street near where many enter Tepito. The gallery was placed here to entice people to come in and see that the area is more than contraband and drugs. The gallery specializes in exhibitions on themes of everyday life in lower-class neighborhoods like Tepito.
One recent exhibition was put together by photographer Francisco Mata and is called "Tepito ¡Bravo el barrio!" (Tepito, Bravo to the neighborhood!, a play of words on the "fierce neighborhood"). This project is a collection of photographs of everyday life from the streets, alleys, houses, churches and markets of the area. The project was first shown at the José María Velasco Gallery in Tepito, which contained mirrors so that residents could compare themselves to the photos. The purpose of the exhibition is to show a side of the neighborhood other than its bad reputation. The photographer was allowed to meet some of the neighborhood's most notable members such as Rubén Olivares, known as El Tirantes and Enriqueta Romero Romero, in charge of the first public shrine to Santa Muerte. The photos include 600 portraits including sixty of the best-known and thirty images from the street.
The neighborhood has produced a number of writers, one the best known of which is Fernando Cesár Ramírez. He is the creator and editor of a magazine called "Desde el Zaguán" which gives non-professional writers in the area a chance to publish their work. It is one of many small journals and fanzines that have been published here, some of which date back to the 1970s. Among them are "El Ñero," "Desde Tepito," "Tepito y Anexas" and "La Enredadera." Recently, a number of these writings and publications were put together for an exhibition called "Dos filos" at the Jose Maria Velasco Gallery.
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