Carlos Orozco Romero (1896-1984) was a Mexican cartoonist and painter who cofounded many cultural institutions in Mexico, like the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". He was born in Guadalajara to Jesús Orozco, who was a tailor and not literate in the arts, but allowed Carlos to pursue it. Jesús hired an eccentric traveling artist named Luis de la Torre, as he thought his focus on experience rather than theory would be a better way for Carlos to be taught. Carlos spent a lot of time reinterpreting still lifes and painting the countryside. When he was 13, Carlos left home and supported himself by drawing cartoons. He joined the Centro Bohemio, an organization of artists, intellectuals and militants founded by José Guadalupe Zuno. He would meet David Alfaro Siqueiros, Xavier Guerrero and Carlos Stahl. Then when he was 16, Carlos moved to Mexico City because of the city's role in the Mexican muralism movement. He met and married María Marín in 1920. Shortly after their marriage, Carlos received a scholarship from the state of Jalisco to go study abroad in Europe. He traveled to Belgium, France and lived in Madrid, where he met Rafael Alberto, Luis Gonzaga Urbina and Alfonso Reyes. His travels were not long since his wife was pregnant and he was homesick. He returned to Guadalajara in 1923, where he and his wife studied engraving with Peruvian artist José Sabogal. Years later, Gabriela, one of their daughters, would find one of her mother's plates among the anonymous items of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Carlos' later travels would include exhibiting in New York on a Guggenheim Fellowship, then in 1957, he would travel to Spain, Italy, France and Switzerland. Carlos passed away at the age of 87 due to pneumonia nad malnutrition.
