By Alondra Montalvo
On Saturday 28, September 2019 I got the opportunity to interview one of the main faces that represents revolution and feminism using their body as art for the July protest this in year in Puerto Rico.
Anamar Perez Green a 19-year-old, part-time student and model from Rio Piedras. You may not recognize by the makeup and lights but she is believe or not part of a revolutionary movement that went viral over on instagram. The picture that shows Anamar wearing nothing but a thong and sneakers using her body as a canvas where two artist, one of them being Melanie Rodriguez, are live painting her body with the national flag of Puerto Rico, sexist slangs and giving her black tears running down her face. The picture has currently over eleven thousand likes, the picture has been use in several articles, has been painted by artist and have made fan art.
Perez was contacted for this project similar as for the rest of people who were involved by the person who took the pictures Valeria Martiro who are best friends. Perez expresses how excited she was of the project. Being that this wasn’t her first protest being that she has participated in previous Universidad de Puerto Rico protests she had a fire in her and message she wanted to send out to the island governor.
“It felt great being part of something so eye catching, something that you really felt the emotions,” Anamar says.
“I was ready for the type of art I was representing. I felt a lot of courage with the situation that we were currently dealing with,” 19-year-old said when asked how she felt being a canvas for the type of art she was representing.
The response on the image was taken as outlandish and unnecessary to conservatives and older generations but the majority of the support/positive feedback came from teens and young adults who understand their movement and what they represented.
How would you react if your image or name was ever used in a history book or museum?
It would take her a while to go through the emotions and the happiness she would have inside because she knows she was part of an big movement.
“People have told me that I will appear in history books so when my kids see it they’ll say ‘that’s my mom’, ”the part-time model added.
Anamar mentioned that she attended majority of the days of protest and five out of those days she went with the same body paint representing the sexist words the former governor of the island Ricardo Rosello used on the exposed group chat with other politicians. Some of the negative feedback she received during those days were those painted on her back and butt
“They sexualized me for the art that was painted on my naked body, was more of a them problem,” the Rio Pidras resident explained why most people did not like her expression of protest.
Would you do it again?
I would do it a hundred times if I have to, it was something very beautiful for me. I would do it alone, with las hijas de la crisis. And at any moment that her island needs artistic representation she will be there.
The activist mentioned she had made lot of friends throughout that experience, powerful woman who wee there because they wanted to not for the exposure.
The casting for this project was tideous, it was Anamar and Melanie who given names of potential girls and would look through there instagram and twitter and analyze it. If they thought you were superficial or fake you would not be chosen, if they saw you were speaking the truth with facts and the way the person would express their activism is what they were looking for they would contact you.
What was the message you were trying to send?
The message they were portraying is a pacific and artistic protest, that you can protest in many different ways. The symbolism for the nudity in the body painting was because Ricardo Rosello's mysogonistic comments sexualizing everything and it's very easy for people to do that and not just simply beauty. They felt like walking pieces of art.
What is a message you would like to send to future protesters and revolutionaries?
The message I would like to give them is, do not back away. If something is wrong and you see unfairness you simply do not back away. Never. People should never stay quiet. [We] need to break [this] toxic cycle. And I will join them forever.
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