Jeff Kaliss’s description of his Poem, Celia, and how it relates to the Diego Rivera Pan American Unity Mural –
Through numerous discussions with Celia Malheiros, the inspiration of my epoymous poem, I became convinced of the progressive and international approach to social and cultural issues Celia shares with me and that we both share with antecedent creative artists such as Diego Rivera and his wife and artistic partner Frida Kahlo. Frida, whose representation in the mural has been called insufficiently prominent, has been a particular model for Celia. Celia’s full expression as both artist and activist led to her ultimately separating from her original musical and marital partner. Respect for the power and wisdom of indigenous culture, much represented in Rivera’s CCSF mural and embodied in Frida’s lifestyle, is also shared by Celia, who has benefitted from voyages of discovery into the northern jungles of her native Brazil.
Read Jeff’s poem, Celia. Click the Click Here button.