Antonio Ruiz

Antonio M. Ruiz's Indolandia Undivided and Free [Indolandia indivisa y libre], one of his many works related to theatrical productions, was created for Rodolfo Usigli's 1953 play Un día de éstos. Usigli set the action of this political parody, subtitled "an impolitic fantasy in three acts," ["Fantasía impolítica en tres actos"] in "Indolandia, a Latin American republic of growing importance" [Indolandia, república latinoamericana de creciente importancia], in a time signaled only as "un día de éstos," or "one of those days." This image simply illustrates Usigli's own description of the national flag of Indolandia that was to appear on a curtain at the very beginning and end of the play: "Against the colors of the flag appears the country's symbol: an energetic white horse with its mane flying in the wind, lifting its right leg before a monstrous frog standing on its hind legs like the wise animals in movie cartoons. Above the horse's mane shines a great star. Under the flag, on a whimsically undulating ribbon, is the slogan: ‘Indolandia undivided and free.'" Usigli had invited his friend to show his paintings in Beirut in 1957, while the former was a member of the Mexican legation. Ruiz painted the gouache the following year for a production of Usigli's play directed by Alfredo Gómez de la Vega. The image long remained in Usigli's possession. There is little question that post-revolutionary Indolandia is really Mexico, not least because of the dominant red, green and white of the flag. In the play, the assassination of the president leads to the nomination of an "everyman" ["ninguneado"] as his successor, and the parodied conversations of those running and manipulating the country reveal the dangers of back-room deals, populism, and U.S. imperialism, among other topics. The symbolism of the flag is unclear, but the frog—who bears an uncanny resemblance to Diego Rivera's self-caricatures—might be the hapless everyman himself, able to startle the most pompous of authorities though ultimately easily squashed underfoot.