Chicano prisoners in jails and penitentiaries throughout the American Southwest produce drawings on handkerchiefs which embody a unique artistic vision. Known as paños, these pocket-sized canvases depict boldly drawn montages composed of Pre-Columbian symbols, Colonial religious icons, Mexican historical figures, and images from 20th century popular culture. Paños are pictorial letters which carry messages from inmates to family and loved ones on the outside and to friends and associates within the prison system. Whether love letters, narratives of personal loss or prayers of redemption, every paño tells a story.

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