Born June 30, 1902 in Mexico City, son of a shoemaker and a peasant woman. Attended primary school for six years and the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts for three years. 1920-22: Studied at first open air school of painting in Chimalistac; later worked for magazines and newspapers and as a 'duck' (stage designer's assistant). 1923-24: Belonged to 'Estridentista' group. Danger Over Mexico, 1945. 1926-28: First engraving, done in Jalapa, Veracruz. Contributed to magazines and newspapers in Veracruz and made posters dealing with social problems. 1929: Chief of cultural missions in Jalisco and State of Mexico. 1930: First exhibition of engravings in Los Angeles.

The Road to Campeche, 1946. 1932: Chief of Plastic Arts Section of Ministry of Public Education, Mexico City. Since 1932, teacher of drawing in primary and technical schools. 1933-37: Founding member of L.E.A.R. and founding member of TGP (1937). 1939: Guggenheim Fellowship. The impregnable wall, 1939. 1946: received 'First National Prize for Graphic Art' Mexico. 1948: first trip to Europe as delegate to World-wide Congress of Intellectuals for Peace, held in Poland. Selected publications: In the Name of Christ, 7 lithographs, in memory of the 200 rural teachers killed in the line of duty by the cristeros: 1936-1938, [1939] Illustrations for Incidentes Melodicos del Mundo Irracional, by Juan de la Cabada, [1944]. Rio Escondido, 10 engravings, [1948].