What drawings did Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo make in prison?

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo He is one of those old-school drug traffickers who has faced the ravages of his advanced age (he turned 78 on January 7). Ever since he was arrested in 1989 for the murder of DEA agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena, the Sinaloan kingpin has been finding a way to pass his time behind bars.

‘The Chief of Chiefs’ was a hobby he had in his early years of imprisonment picture And color. Journalist Diego Enrique Osorno suggests in his book The Sinaloa Cartel: A History of the Political Use of DrugsThat Felix Gallardo painted historical figures, literary figures and Mexican actresses with his wrist.

“Felix Gallardo painted during the first three years of his imprisonment, which passed in 1000 South Jail of the Federal District,” says Osorno, who took statements from one of the Sinaloa boss’s sons to find out what kind of drawings he made.

According to his relatives, Felix Gallardo was the buyer of these works Martha Chapa, painter originally from Monterrey. “According to his children, he created a portrait of himself that was destroyed after a violent raid on the family home,” the aforementioned book reads, without giving further details about the composition. But just as the founder of the defunct Guadalajara cartel used to acquire works of art, he also tried to create them.

A son of ‘The Boss of Bosses’ (whose identity remains confidential) suggested that his father was creating portraits of one of the most prominent historical figures in French culture: Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor for whom he had great admiration. Same thing happened with Alexander the GreatDespite his short life (33 years) he is considered one of the greatest strategists of his time.

“He usually likes to draw Napoleon, because he admires this character as well as Alexander the Great,” said Felix Gallardo’s son. It is unknown how many portraits he produced using both figures as well as the resources and technique used.

The drug trafficker’s interest in reading led him to create portraits of Alonso Quijano, better known in the world of letters. Don Quixote of La ManchaA gentleman who thought of himself as a medieval knight appears in the works of the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Gallardo also painted Mexican film and television actresses. was on the one hand Salma Hayek, who managed to make the leap to Hollywood with Antonio Banderas; There was another side Kate del CastilloKnown for her lead role in the television series Queen of the South.

“For Culiacan I remember that he a Kate del Castillo And one Salma Hayek to some friends. I think he also painted some Christs and other personal portraits,” noted one of his sons in the aforementioned book.

The fate of Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo’s drawings is unknown, as are their current owners. However, journalist Enrique Osorno points out that the Sinaloa-born drug trafficker had a banner from a demonstration that the painter Jose Luis Cuevas Believed to be dedicated to him.

The drug trafficker’s penchant for drawing, painting, and literature contrasts with the criminal activities he carried out in the 1970s and 1980s—primarily drug trafficking—under cover of the Guadalajara cartel.

Currently, Felix lives in Gallardo Puente Grande PrisonJalisco, where he works as a gardener.