De Musico, Poeta, y Loco: Juan del Jarro in the Public Imaginaries of San Luis Potosí

The Saucito is the oldest cemetery in the city of San Luis Potosí (México). It was inaugurated in 1889 and has 133 years of uninterrupted public service. Funerary monuments with outstanding architecture and iconography, diverse spiritual beliefs, and legends have become part of the public dimension of the city and its region. In this place rests Juan de Dios Azíos (1793 – 1859), popularly known as Juan del Jarro. This character has become a legend over the years. It is said that he was a beggar whose only possession was a jar (jarro de barro) in which he kept the crumbs that people gave him. He was thought to predict the future, have a good memory, and knowledge of religious festivals. Reportedly, he was a peaceful, pleasant conversationalist who pronounced sayings (refranes) and phrases full of wisdom.

This paper explains how Juan del Jarro persists in the memory of the current inhabitants of the city and region. A visit to his tomb is a must during the celebrations of Day of the Dead in the Saucito cemetery. People deposit votive offerings, flowers, or coins in clay jars at the entrance to his mausoleum; a prayer is read, and favors are requested or thanked. Juan del Jarro is related to the value of charity and aid for the poor. The money collected from his grave is used to buy food for public dining rooms for the poorest in the city. He has also been the subject of multiple representations in historiography and newspapers and plays. In 2006, the City Council placed a bronze sculpture in one of the most important public walks in the city. The figure of Juan del Jarro is living public history, understood as a public dimension of the popular culture of this society and its region.