RETABLO. THE CONDEMNED

Los Condenados. Year: 1987. Dimensions: Open: 43 x 127 x 21.5 cm / Closed: 43 x 63.5 x 21 cm. In this retablo, Edilberto Jiménez creates a satire of the authorities and figures of power in both the local and national context. Six animals are shown riding horses and mules, galloping toward a cliff, cornered by the population pushing them into the abyss from the left side. The enraged mob of workers — peasants, miners, etc. — armed with their work tools and slings, comes from afar, repudiating the authorities. One can see that they descend from the Andean mountains and have passed through a rainbow that grants them the strength to pursue those who have subjugated them from positions of power. The rainbow replaces the triumphal arch or Arco de San Francisco of the city of Huamanga. The Church is represented by a fox dressed as a priest — cunning and deceitful — riding a mule. The soldier is a dog in uniform, on horseback. The congressman is represented by a parrot — talkative and unreliable — wearing glasses, a hat, and carrying a briefcase, mounted on a donkey. The slithering snake represents the swindler; the mouse — a thief — represents local authorities; the lion is a court system employee. All these characters flee in terror before the pursuit of the people, being dragged toward hell, where various underworld creatures await them with a list enumerating each of their deeds. The population mobilizes in this retablo driven by the intention of creating a more just world. The sky is blue, and just above the rainbow — from where all the people come — the moon, the sun, and the stars are enclosed in a radiant circle.