To Kill Them in the Heat Matarlos en el Calor

Date

1947

Creator

Matarlos en el Calor and El Criminal, Victoriano Huerta, Se Aduena del Poder are two of the images that Alfredo Zalce contributed to the folio Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana. The two prints in the Charles S. Hayes collection, however, were not produced for the published book. They are printed on thicker white paper, whereas the published series was printed on rather thin multicolored paper. These two editions were most likely made before the establishment of the TGP [Taller de Gráfica Popular] publishing company and the publication of the Estampas. [...] In Matarlos en el Calor, Zalce recounts the events surrounding the Veracruz Massacre of 1879, condemning Porfirio Díaz for his tyranny and betrayal. In order to ameliorate the Mexican economy, President Díaz had made a law that redefined smuggling as a penal offense. This law caused unrest in Veracruz, and an unsigned telegram written in cipher was sent to the state’s military governor, General Mier y Terán, instructing him to "Kill them in the heat." The general obeyed the order (thought to have been sent by Díaz), executing an estimated nine to fifteen people. Zalce presents the episode in two registers. In the top level, he has created a stoic portrait of the instigators of the massacre. Porfirio Díaz, recognizable from his distinctive moustache, is dressed in full regalia, gripping his sword and donning a plumed hat and medals. The expressions of the figures are indifferent; indeed, the only hints of the events shown below are the telegram reading "Matalos en caliente" in Díaz’s hand and the sinister figure, presumably of Mier y Terán, who glares out from under the dark shadow of his hood. Below, a predella-like register vividly depicts the gruesome consequences of Díaz’s order. By contrasting the horrific actions of shooting, whipping, hanging, and stabbing with the detached portrait above, Zalce effectively places condemnatory blame on Díaz and his conspirators. from Costa, Para la Gente: Art, Politics and Cultural Identity of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (Notre Dame, 2009)