Anyone who has spent a long (or short) time in Mexico City knows the importance of the organilleros in the capital's soundscape. Why do these musical boxes of European origin, now extinct almost everywhere, still carry so much weight? The barrel organ is a 19th century instrument that was a great success because it did not require technical skill to play it. Roughly speaking, it is a giant musical box with about 8 songs inscribed in a cylinder that makes flutes sound when it rotates. All you have to do is turn it to the right rhythm and that's it. When they arrived from Europe to Mexico they became very popular in salons. During the Porfiriato period, the squares of Mexico City began to have more organ grinders who rented this instrument for the day. This format is still the same today. A handful of families own the instruments and rent them to people who go around the city playing them in exchange for a tip. playing them in exchange for a tip..
In this city it seems that many times coexist at the same time. The architecture reveals it in old buildings such as Manzanares 25in La Merced, the oldest house in the city, to the new buildings in Santa Fe. In the Historic Center, for example, daily life does not bow to history; the past is not a source of wonder or praise, but is confused, adapts and submits to the present.Perhaps that is why it is not surprising that even in busy streets with closed windows the organ grinders are still present.
The photos of Pablo Diego have something ghostly about them, you could almost hear the nostalgic sound of the barrel organs. A visual balance that serves as a bubble to concentrate only on the organ grinder with his beige uniform inspired by the costumes of soldiers of the Mexican Revolution, the architecture of the city and the sound of the instrument. Those of us who live here know that everything coexists at the same time but sometimes, even for a moment, we can make the exercise of abstracting ourselves and focusing on a detail. A sound or a color like the crimson of Mexico City.
To learn more about Pablo Diego's work visit his website. website.
