Broadside: on recto skeletons riding bicycles; on verso skeletons buying and selling printed images etc

José Guadalupe Posada Mexican
Manuel Manilla Mexican
Publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo Mexican

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The title across the top of this broadside announces its satirical subject: "From this famous hippodrome on the racetrack, not even a single journalist is missing. Death is inexorable and doesn't even respect those that you see here on bicycles." The target is the mainstream press, who compete in a headlong race. The skeletons are identified by the names of the newspapers they represent, and their attire reflects their allegiances in comic and symbolic ways. Each outlet is further satirized in the text below. In the 1890s, bicycle riding was promoted among Mexico City’s Europeanized upper classes, which made it a subject of satirical scrutiny.



El título visible en la parte superior de esta hoja volante anuncia su temática satírica: «De este famoso hipódromo en la pista no faltará ni un solo periodista. La muerte inexorable no respeta ni a los que veis aquí en bicicleta». El blanco de la sátira es la prensa de gran tirada, que compite en una carrera apresurada. Las calaveras se identifican con los nombres de los periódicos a los que representan y su atuendo refleja, de manera cómica y simbólica, sus simpatías políticas. La burla a los distintos periódicos prosigue en el texto inferior. En la década de 1890, se fomentaron en Ciudad de México los desplazamientos en bicicleta entre las clases altas europeizadas y, como resultado, la actividad fue objeto del escrutinio satírico.

Broadside: on recto skeletons riding bicycles; on verso skeletons buying and selling printed images etc, José Guadalupe Posada (Mexican, Aguascalientes 1852–1913 Mexico City), Type-metal engraving and letterpress

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