“The Mangy Parrot” Scenes from a Mexican Satire

José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (1776-1827) is credited with being the first great writer of comic or picturesque novels in Mexico. His most famous work, El Periquillo Sarniento (The Mangy Parrot), was published in 1816. The hero of this work (if he can be called a hero) is Pedro Sarmiento, a young man who takes up with bad company, and soon becomes a knave. One of his friends, a rogue called Juan Largo (John Long), makes a play on Pedro’s name, and begins calling him Periquillo Sarniento (hence the title of the book). Pedro, or Periquillo, fancies himself as a romantic young Don Juan, but his misadventures are more like those of an unhappy Don Quixote.

s with colonial Florida.

The 1881 edition of El Periquillo Sarniento is richly illustrated with plates, and some are reproduced here, telling the basic story of Periquillo’s mishaps. The plates, in addition to being funny, also show house interiors and different social classes of people in Mexico at the end of the colonial period. They can be used on their own, or to make comparison

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

First Plate

Periquillo is visiting friends in the countryside when his friend Juan Largo arrives. Juan has disguised himself as a country priest to hide his evil intentions. The two soon get into trouble.

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

Second Plate

Periquillo is convinced that the young women in the house will admire him if he boasts that he can fight a bull. Juan Largo calls his bluff, and he enters the bull ring. He does not do very well.

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

Third Plate

Juan Largo causes more trouble. He tells Periquillo he should wait until everyone is asleep and then visit one of the young girls in her room. Periquillo tries it and goes into the wrong room. He walks into the room of the girl’s mother.

The caption printed with this picture can be translated “The old woman hit me so hard on the face with her shoe that I could see the sun even though it was the middle of the night.”

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

Fourth Plate

Periquillo’s troubles continue. He goes off to make his fortune and becomes an encomendero, an official who is responsible for making the local Indians pay their taxes. People hate him so much that they riot and drive him out of their town, throwing rocks at him as he gallops off on horseback.

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

Fifth Plate

In another town, Periquillo is trying to catch his runaway horse when he knocks down a potter who is selling earthen wares. Now he has lost his horse and must also pay for the broken pottery.

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

Sixth Plate

Periquillo tries to win some money by cheating at cards. This goes about as well as the bullfighting did.

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.

Seventh Plate

Eventually, Periquillo gets into so much trouble that he ends up in jail. He tries to convince the other prisoners that he is just as tough as they are. They laugh at him, and pour out the contents of their chamber pots on his head. In the end, Periquillo gives up the life he is leading and makes good. Meanwhile, his friend Juan Largo, who is constantly causing trouble, becomes more and more wicked, until finally one day he hangs himself. Fernández de Lizardi used this novel to teach a moral lesson, but he also wrote about the social ills that plagued Mexico during his time. His book remains a classic of Mexican literature to this day.

The plates seen here are from El Periquillo Sarniento by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (Mexico: J. Valdes y Cueva, 1881), originally published in two volumes.