Procession at Chalma

Chalma, located south of Mexico City, has a shrine to the pre-Hispanic deity Oztotéotl. In the 1530s, Spanish friars reinterpreted Oztotéotl as Christ. Since then, in a practice that mixes indigenous customs and Catholic ceremonies, pilgrims journey across Mexico to this sacred village. They often carry a statue of their own village’s patron saint, as seen in this lithograph. Jean Charlot depicts these pilgrims using his signature simplified, geometric forms. Like Tortilla Lesson, this lithograph conveys Charlot’s deep respect for Mexican rituals.