1945

Scandal: Rumor, gossip, and biases, products of an ignorant society, are the principal agents in a woman's downfall. Save her and others by...teaching reading and writing! ...

Mexican, 1911 - 1986

In the mid-1940s, Dosamantes worked for the national campaign to make the indigenous peoples of Mexico literate and Spanish-speaking, an initiative first launched in the 1920s after the revolution. To sell the benefits of reading and education to his audience, he used bold linocut designs and simple captions that warn of the dire consequences of illiteracy and ignorance. Here, a group of well-dressed, educated citizens are portrayed as cackling birds and braying asses accusing an illiterate, barefoot peasant woman of scandalous behavior. The caption reads (translated): Rumor, gossip, and biases, the products of an ignorant society, are the principal agents of a woman's downfall. Save her and her compatriots by raising their intelligence by teaching them to read and write! Lend your enthusiastic support to the National Anti-illiteracy Campaign!