Jazmin Velasco brings tubby Mexican fighters alive in prints

Jun 10 2010 by Tamzin Lewis, The Journal

MEXICAN artist Jazmin Velasco’s wrestling prints at The Biscuit Factory are miniature knockouts as TAMZIN LEWIS discovers.

YOU wouldn’t automatically place art and wrestling together but in the case of Jazmin Velasco they are a perfect match.

The Mexican artist’s latest prints are inspired by her uncle Roy ‘The Gladiator’ Velasco, who wrestled in the 1950s and 60s.

Her prints of “fat men flying through the air” are a witty tribute to the popular tradition of pro-wrestling in Mexico.

Lucha Libre (free fighting) was introduced to Mexico in the 1930s and by the 1950s the sport, which includes high-flying acrobatic moves, had taken the country by storm.

The sport’s idol was the masked El Santo whose persona inspired a comic book and a new super-hero film genre.

Roy, also known in his wrestling years as Diablo Velasco, didn’t quite make super-hero status before his wealthy aunt tired of his antics.

Jazmin explains: “In my childhood I was always surrounded by wrestlers but they were retired so I never saw them fighting. In particular two of my uncles were wrestlers but they weren’t very good!

“Roy’s nose was broken and one of his aunties was embarrassed to have this messy nephew so she gave him lots of money to set up a business. He organised body building competitions, appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger and became super- rich!”

Jazmin, whose father is a cartoonist, studied graphic design in Guadalajara before moving to Mexico City where she studied oil painting and printmaking.

The 38-year-old now lives in London and illustrates books for publishers in Mexico, USA and the UK. She is a member of London Printmakers and has been twice selected for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.