Artist To Be Sued For Mexican Leader As Gay

Story By: Jonathan MaciasSub EditorJoseph GolderAgency: Central European News 

The grandson of a leader of the Mexican Revolution says he plans to sue an artist who painted his grandfather naked on a horse wearing only high heels and displayed the piece in a local museum.

According to local media, Jorge Zapata, the grandson of the Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata Salazar (1879-1919), has announced that he plans to sue artist Fabian Chairez for depicting his grandfather as a “gay” figure.

Picture Credit: CEN/@cultura_mx

The painting is displayed as part of the exposition “Zapata despues de Zapata” (Zapata after Zapata) in the Palace of Fine Arts in the Mexican capital of Mexico City in central Mexico.

The controversial piece shows Emiliano Zapata riding a white horse wearing only high heels and a traditional Mexican hat in a seductive pose.

Jorge Zapata told local media: “An unknown artist who wants fame, in my opinion, depicts our general as a gay man. As a relative and as a citizen of Mexico, where we are ‘Zapatistas’ we will not allow that”.

Picture Credit: CEN/@fabian_chairez

Reports said that the grandson of the revolutionary leader also intends to sue the Director of the Mexican Institute of Fine Arts Luciana Jimenez Lopez.

Artist Fabian Chairez said on Twitter: “If you think there is a problem in depicting a national hero with female features then you have a problem.”

The Zapata painting caught the attention of the family when the Secretary of Culture of the Mexican Government used the piece to advertise the exhibition.

Picture Credit: CEN/@cultura_mx

The Secretary of Culture of the Mexican Government wrote on social media about Chairez’s painting: “His piece ‘La Revolucion’ questions the macho stereotypes that shape the national identity and makes sexual diversity movements visible.”

The image created by Chairez has also been painted by the artist on the walls of the popular LGBT+ bar ‘Marrakech Salon’ in the historic city centre of Mexico.

Emiliano Zapata Salazar lived between 1879 and 1919 and he was the main leader of the peasant revolution in the state of Morelos during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) that transformed Mexican culture and its government.

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