IN THE MANNER OF MARCELINO VICENTE (1933-1968) A MEXICAN FOLK ART PAINTED POTTERY GROUP 'OCUMICHO DEVILS'

Deep in the heart of Mexico’s western communities, in the state of Michoacán, you will find Ocumicho, famous for its prize-winning devil figurines that captivate people from all over the world with an enchanting universe of mischievous and playful characters. The figurines represent the collective effort and imagination of a whole tradition rich in myths and creativity. The sculptures feature strange hybrid scenes that combine everyday life, religious allegories, and local folklore and legends, leading to funny and endearing results. Legend has it that the practice comes from a single mind, that of young Marcelino Vicente, a local, eccentric artisan who dared look beyond the obvious and into the depths of the surreal. Ocumicho was a very conservative, tradition-bound place, and Marcelino Vicente was anything but.  His biographers have described him as a flamboyant cross-dresser, a homosexual, an unabashed narcissist, and an alcoholic. He became the victim of local thugs, who found him drinking alone in a bar late one evening and beat him savagely to death in 1968.