José Fabián Estrada is a graphic designer, at least this is how people recognize him by his profession, but he refuses such formality. José or Maldito Perrito, as he also likes to call himself, does not consider himself a graphic designer, artist, or illustrator; the further away from it the better. What he really likes in addition to dogs and tangerines is drawing, so he prefers to be recognized as a drawer since it is what he likes to do the most. Draw, as simple as that.

With colorful and undeniably happy drawings, Maldito Perrito shares the reality of his city, the daily life, and the characters that feed and represent his environment. For the viewer, at least as a Mexican, it is impossible not to empathize with his artwork more than once, if it is not a drawing of a local street market, a taquero, or the lady making quesadillas, then it is a stall of tepaches (a traditional drink made with fermented pineapple), stray dogs, the inefficiency of public transport and other elements that anyone can perceive with a sense of belonging. It doesn't matter how overwhelming the daily life of the city can be, José Estrada makes it friendly and charming. 

For one of the Mezcal Verde's labels, Maldito Perrito decided to draw “el tlachiquero”, the guardian and producer of pulque, a craft that has existed for a long time in Mexico. The tlachiquero is the person dedicated to extract the mead from the maguey but also is the one who plants and takes care of the magueys. Maldito Perrito expresses that "without magueys, there cannot be tlachiquero, without tlachiquero there cannot be pulque and without pulque there is nothing, there is no pachanga, there is no party".

 

Of course, the drawings matter but the main value of his artwork are the movements and ideas that he gives voice to since he thinks that most of the time his job is to give life to other voices. Maldito Perrito has always used paper and pencil to capture everything he sees, everything that surrounds him makes him happy, hurts him; the colorful and dark side of being Mexican.

Calling himself by the nickname Maldito Perrito, it's all about his barrio, his roots. He explains that he always puts a puppy on everything he draws. If he could choose to be an animal he would like to be a street dog, not a domesticated one. That is his job, as a drawer who walks through the streets and whatever catches his attention he immediately draws it.