Entertainment · Books & Arts · 3 hrs ago
Darío Adanti presents anti-Franco jokes project in Mexico City
Artist Darío Adanti is presenting “Jokes Against Franco” in Mexico City on November 5 at the Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico.
The project recalls jokes shared in secret by people who opposed Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in Spain.
Under Franco, people faced censorship and persecution, and some were tortured or executed.
The presentation pairs the jokes with excerpts from books and historical documents to show the repression in which they were created and shared.
The jokes ranged from gentle to dark, using humor to challenge power while direct opposition could be dangerous.
The project presents laughter as a form of cultural and political resistance and a way to defend freedoms and human rights.
Darío Adanti presents “Jokes Against Franco” at the Centro Cultural de España en México on November 5.
The project revisits jokes told clandestinely by people persecuted under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.
It combines the jokes with excerpts from books and historical documents about Francoist repression.
Adanti says the project aims to recover antifascist historical memory and show the risks faced by those who told the jokes.
- Who
- Darío Adanti, a humorist, cartoonist and journalist, presents the project.
- What
- Jokes Against Franco,” an artistic project about clandestine humor used to challenge Franco’s regime.
- When
- November 5, 2026.
- Where
- The Centro Cultural de España en México, Mexico City.
- Why
- To recover antifascist historical memory and show how humor served as resistance under repression.
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- Presenter
- Darío Adanti
- Project
- Chistes contra Franco” (“Jokes Against Franco”)
- Venue
- Centro Cultural de España en México
- Date
- November 5, 2026
- Format
- Jokes combined with excerpts from books and historical documents
What people are saying
We wanted to recover antifascist historical memory through the jokes told clandestinely.
I consider myself a satirical humorist, but also somewhat of a communicator of the historical memory of humor as resistance for human rights or freedoms, against authoritarianism.