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the Peaple
"The Mangy Parrot"
Scenes from a Mexican Satire
Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi (1776-1827) is credited with being
the first great writer of comic or picturesque novels in Mexico. His
most famous work, El Periquillo Sarniento (The Mangy Parrot), was
published in 1816. The hero of this work (if he can be called a hero) is
Pedro Sarmiento, a young man who takes up with bad company, and
soon becomes a knave. One of his friends, a rogue called Juan Largo
(John Long), makes a play on Pedro's name, and begins calling him
Periquillo Sarniento (hence the title of the book). Pedro, or Periquillo,
fancies himself as a romantic young Don Juan, but his misadventures
are more like those of an unhappy Don Quixote.
The 1881 edition of El Periquillo Sarniento is richly illustrated with
plates, and some are reproduced here, telling the basic story of
Periquillo's mishaps. The plates, in addition to being funny, also show
house interiors and different social classes of people in Mexico at the
end of the colonial period. They can be used on their own, or to make
comparisons with colonial Florida.
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
First Plate
Periquillo is visiting friends in the countryside when his friend Juan
Largo arrives. Juan has disguised himself as a country priest to hide
his evil intentions. The two soon get into trouble.
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
Second Plate
Periquillo is convinced that the young women in the house will admire
him if he boasts that he can fight a bull. Juan Largo calls his bluff, and
he enters the bull ring. He does not do very well.
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
Third Plate
Juan Largo causes more trouble. He tells Periquillo he should wait
until everyone is asleep and then visit one of the young girls in her
room. Periquillo tries it and goes into the wrong room. He walks into
the room of the girl's mother.
The caption printed with this picture can be translated "The old woman
hit me so hard on the face with her shoe that I could see the sun even
though it was the middle of the night."
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
Fourth Plate
Periquillo's troubles continue. He goes off to make his fortune and
becomes an encomendero, an official who is responsible for making
the local Indians pay their taxes. People hate him so much that they
riot and drive him out of their town, throwing rocks at him as he gallops
off on horseback.
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
Fifth Plate
In another town, Periquillo is trying to catch his runaway horse when
he knocks down a potter who is selling earthen wares.
Now he has lost his horse and must also pay for the broken pottery.
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
Sixth Plate
Periquillo tries to win some money by cheating at cards.
about as well as the bullfighting did.
This goes
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
the Peaple
Seventh Plate
Eventually, Periquillo gets into so much trouble that he ends up in jail.
He tries to convince the other prisoners that he is just as tough as they
are. They laugh at him, and pour out the contents of their chamber
pots on his head.
In the end, Periquillo gives up the life he is leading and makes good.
Meanwhile, his friend Juan Largo, who is constantly causing trouble,
becomes more and more wicked, until finally one day he hangs
himself. Fernandez de Lizardi used this novel to teach a moral lesson,
but he also wrote about the social ills that plagued Mexico during his
time. His book remains a classic of Mexican literature to this day.
The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
(Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.
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