La Bella and her Xolos Limited Edition Print

The dog Xolo had a proven place in the life of the ancient Mexicans. Among its functions was to carry the souls of human beings to the underworld; In essence, it was a psychopomp dog because they lead the the deceased person to the sacred place Mictlán. Xolo, a word from Nahuatl, means deformity, monstrosity or monster and is related to the physical characteristics of the canine. In the Nahua cosmogony, Xólotl is a deity represented as a dog, and is the twin brother of Quetzalcóatl. Quetzalcóatl was in charge of the sunrise, while Xólotl was responsible for accompanying him on his journey through the kingdom of Night and death.
Frida Kahlo participated in the rescue of the breed that was almost extinct at the time. Apart from having them as pets, the artist included the Xolo as a symbol in some of her works such as “El abrazo de Amor del Universo, y la Tierra (Mexico), Diego, yo, and Mr. Xolotl.“
The dog became relevant in such a way that around 1954 the International Cynological Federation organized the Xolo Expedition which consisted of the search for wild specimens to recover the species.