Mexican American Art Since 1848 (MAAS1848)

Cuando El Rio Suena Gatos Lleva

Menchaca, Michael

Michael Menchaca, Cuando El Rio Suena Gatos Lleva, 2011, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Drs. Harriett and Ricardo Romo, 2019.50.33, © MMXX, Michael Menchaca

Cat

River

2011

Graphic Arts

screenprint on paper

Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM)

This piece is a landscape-oriented digital illustration with a pastel blue background and white organic lines that create a pattern that resembles water. As the artist states in a 2018 interview, the image “transports the viewer into a different kind of experience in terms of looking at art.” The title is a phrase that comes from the Mexican proverb, “cuando el río suena, agua lleva,” which means that rumors often have their basis in fact. There are twenty-six cats wearing hats and brightly colored ponchos, representing migrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Two cats are upside down, and there is one cat drowning with only its tail out of the water. Michael Menchaca contrasts bright colors with a sad scene that aims to create an awareness of the struggle that migrants face when they risk their lives crossing the Rio Grande. It has been known for years that this river is one of the most dangerous crossings for migrants who intend to get to the United States, and Menchaca is humorously representing those tragedies in his artwork. (Author: Maresa Bojorges)

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