Carved Coconut From The Mexican Penal Colony Chucho El Roto Mexico 1892

Carved coconut from the Chucho el Roto prison in Mexico, 1892, in the shape of a bugbear. The carving is engraved "Nu recuerdo de la Fortaleza de Ulua Viva Mexico de 1892" (A souvenir from the Ulua Fortress Viva Mexico of 1892). In 1892, the regime of Porfirio Díaz was very authoritarian. The prison was no longer just for common criminals; it was the destination for anyone who dared to rise up against the government. One of the most famous names associated with the Fortaleza de Ulua prison during this exact period is Jesús Arriaga, better known as "Chucho el Roto." Many accounts (and local legends) place his final imprisonment and escape attempt around 1892–1894. Chucho was a master craftsman before becoming a thief. Prisoners of his time were skilled at creating beautiful coconut carvings. The shell dates from 1892; it was carved at the height of the "Chucho el Roto" era, when the prison's reputation for these specific sculptures reached its peak.