Disease, Resistance, and Lies: The Demise of the Transatlantic Slave Trade to Brazil and Cuba by Dale T. Graden (review)
A creative soul, Zúñiga evidenced a desire to attain “freedom to be himself” that runs through the narrative. Although Zúñiga’s father fueled his son’s love of painting in some sense by introducing the family to the wonderful world of radio and the movies, he nonetheless insisted that Zúñiga find conventional work as a tailor or in electronics repair. After all, the family, originally from Oaxaca and of Zapotec heritage, was of modest means. Still, in 1958 Zúñiga enrolled in a drawing class at the La Esmeralda painting school, which was founded in 1942 by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and others. There, a new world of art and friendships opened for the young artist. Once he entered the school full time in 1962, Zúñiga rethought aspects of his identity, and at this point his painting produced “a more intense sensation of being alive” (p. 168).