Homenaje al Escuadrón 201

Date: 1945

Medium: Linocut

Dimensions (cm.): 52.0 x 59.2

Alternate titles: Unknown

Published edition: Unknown

Contemporary publication: Poster, Bienvenidos a la patria. Desfile de la revolución y homenaje al Escuadrón 201, published by the Gobierno de Distrito Federal, Dirección de Acción Social

References: Exposición de Homenaje 513; Prignitz 63

Selected additional references (illustrated): Prignitz 2018 (poster)

Commentary: Particpating in the Second World War from July 24, 1944 to November 18, 1945, the Escuadrón 201 is a fighter squadron of the Mexican Air Force, respected for its role in the war with Japan  in the Pacific. Attacks by German submarines on Mexican oil tankers bound for the United States led President Lázaro Cárdenas to declare war on the Axis as an ally of the United States in May 1942. Mexico and Brazil were the only Latin American countries to participate militarily in the war. The squadron was attached to the  United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and trained in Texas before leaving for the Philippines in the summer of 1945. Méndez depicted the return of one of the airmen, and the poster advertised the triumphal parade in the Zócalo of Mexico City on November 18. Méndez personalized the subject by focusing on a father and daughter in their private celebration. The young girl is modeled after Méndez's daughter Andrea. (Deborah Caplow)

Catalogue record number: 215