A Mexican national hero naked and with high-heeled shoes? Worshipers of Emiliano Zapata go too far. A painting showing Zapata unclothed on a horse is causing a stir in Mexico. Hundreds of demonstrators stormed the Palacio de Bellas Artes Museum in Mexico City on Tuesday, showing the 2014 work titled "La Revolución" by Fabián Cháirez. They threatened to burn the painting.
Zapata (1879-1919) was instrumental in the fall of the dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1910. His grandson Jorge Zapata even threatened the artist with a lawsuit. "We will not let that happen, for us descendants the presentation of our general as a gay is a denigration," he said.
The demonstrators, mainly agricultural workers from Zapatra's native Morelos, are disturbed by the nudity of her feminine hero, who also wears a pink hat and stilettos. In addition, the horse has an erect penis.
The demonstrators, who spent several hours in front of the museum, shouted homophobic insults and announced that they would come back every day until the painting was removed. Luis Vargas, curator of the show, pointed out that the protests of the exhibition had already brought much attention and additional visitors. A painting is just an artistic exploration. In the current case, he found it positive that Cháirez 'work also helps to stimulate discussion about a current topic such as homosexuality.
The exhibition takes place on the 100th anniversary of the death of Zapatas. The painting also adorns the title of the exhibition catalog.