Honest Hustlers

Honest Hustlers: © Key West Art & Historical Society
Honest Hustlers

© Key West Art & Historical Society

Name/Title

Honest Hustlers

Entry/Object ID

2022.02.0003

Description

Wood carving by Mario Sanchez depicting the Shut Up Your Mouth Froot & Vegitable [sic] cart and a bicycle shoe salesman. They are outside of Pancho's Hot Bollos cafe. A caption written by Sanchez reads, 'Most everyone in my old neighborhood had a nickname. I don't even remember Shut-Up-U-Mouth's real name. He was nicknamed as a baby when he was being baptized. Like most babies being baptized, he was crying during the ceremony. The Catholic priest very tenderly told him, 'Shut up your mouth, baby.' His mother didn't understand what the priest meant because, although all her children were born in Key West, she was Cuban and hadn't learned much English. She answered in Spanish, 'His name isn't 'Shut-Up-U-Mouth'.' Everybody had a good laugh and from that day his nickname was Shut-Up-U-Mouth. When Shut-Up-U-Mouth grew up he worked as a cigarmaker but he quit to sell fruit from his own push cart. Fruit has always been a part of the Key West diet. Key limes, avocados, mangoes and sugar apples were grown in town and with some luck, can be found in backyards even today. Plantains and pineapples were shipped in from Cuba or the Bahamas. Like most of the vendors of Key West, Shut-Up-U-Mouth started selling on the streets in a push cart. Shut-Up-U-Mouth was a very popular vendor. Customers would wait for him because he sold on credit when times were tough for his customers. After hard work, he saved enough money to buy a Model T Ford truck.'

Type of Sculpture

Relief

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil, Wood

Subject Place

City

Key West

State/Province

Florida

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

County

Monroe

Collection

Mario Sanchez Collection

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Sanchez, Mario

Role

Artist

Date made

circa 1960

Time Period

20th Century

Place

City

Key West

State/Province

Florida

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

County

Monroe

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

Bottom Right Corner

Transcription

Mario Sanchez

Language

English

Material/Technique

Painted

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Intaglio

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sculpture

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

17 in

Width

27-1/2 in

Depth

1-1/2 in

Condition

Reason for Exam

At Acquisition

Overall Condition

Very Good