Rough and Tumble
Gochi Brothers
Mexico

The harsh and barren landscape made of yucca and sand seems to suggest a man's nativity. Crafted by three rough and tumble men, three brothers, it takes some effort to overcome the initial impression of dirt and soot, or simply of careless endeavor. The high-fired figures, looking like coal miners at the end of their shift, are more than a product of simple craftsmanship. They are of exceptional artistic quality. The Gochi brothers have an uncanny ability to take clay and make it come alive with the minute details of daily life. There is more. The face and gestures of the figures are awash with the many emotions of the soul. See the triumph etched into the devil's sneering face, and big man Joseph's gauche and awkward gesture as he affectionately points to the child. From the creases of the men's shirts to the earrings of the women, this set tells indeed the rough and tumble life of gauchos or fortune-hunters. But this scene is not without the secret charm of intended or unintended poetic license: a handsome youth playing the lyre of ancient Greece in the Mexican desert; the bearded preacher who for once ceased thumbing his bible and squeezed it under his arm as he approaches the child; and, again the devil, Tequila bottle dangling from his belt, as he openly shows his horned head no longer hiding it behind a bull mask. Meanwhile, the baby rests in his mother's arm as she peacefully lies on the desert sand.