Mexican Retablos

This article treats Mexican retablos (devotional paintings) in relation to people's actions. Retablos serve as a basis for seeing, talking about, and interpreting events born from oppressive, modern conditions. Actions and artful representation indicate, respectively, proximity to reality, from near to far—a difference that outlines a space for aesthetic production. I argue that retablos contribute to an aesthetic that orients the senses and the mind against oppressive conditions and toward a positive vision of what the world might be.