GUADALAJARA! (5)The Hospicio Cabaņas is best known for the series of murals painted by Clemente Orozco. Orozco, a native of Guadalajara, was one of the three great mural painters of 20th century Mexico. (The other two were Diego Rivera and David Siquieros.) After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, the government sponsored artists to paint the glories of Mexican history and of the Revolution. Although intended as a form of propaganda, this policy resulted in one of the greatest movements of mural painting in history. In every Mexican city you will find public buildings decorated with the work of the "big three" and countless, lesser known muralists.

The theme of the murals is the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards.
 

The villian of the story is the Spanish conquistador, Cortez. Although Mexico is an Hispanic country, the Mexicans take greater pride in their Indian heritage than in their Spanish background. You will find no monuments to Cortez in Mexico...he is the "bad guy" who destroyed the native civilizations and enslaved the Indian population.
 

The Spanish soldiers are portrayed as inhuman, robot-like machines of destruction.
 

In the dome is Orozco's masterpiece, "Man In Flames," which conveys the artist's hope that mankind through its suffering will eventually find the path to heaven