Tlacuache Brings Fire

Tlacuache Brings Fire, an etching and aquatint by Israel Campos, 2021, rendered in muted grey-green tones with dark, densely hatched linework. In the upper portion, oil pumpjacks and electrical transmission towers crowd a hillside beneath a radiating sun, with palm trees interspersed among them; below, a group of running and gesturing human figures — some raising fists or striking poles — surrounds a masked or costumed figure wearing an animal headdress and holding a round shield, while a small opossum trails fire from its tail at the lower left. The composition is busy and agitated, contrasting the mechanical verticals of the pumpjacks and towers above with the dynamic, scattered figures below.