Elizam Escobar (May 24, 1948 – January 15, 2021) was a Puerto Rican art theorist, poet, visual artist and writer. He served a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted while a member of the FALN.

Early years

Escobar was born in Puerto Rico's second largest city,

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, on the southern part of the island. There he received his primary and secondary education. As a child, he always enjoyed drawing and painting. After Escobar graduated from high school he enrolled and attended the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

to pursue his artistic studies.

Political activist

During his years as a student, he became actively involved in the

Puerto Rican independence movement Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States. A spectrum of pro-autonomy, ...

. He became a member of the underground group called Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN). After he earned his bachelor's degree in Visual Arts, he moved to New York City. In New York he attended the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. Escobar also taught art at the

Museo del Barrio El Museo del Barrio, often known simply as El Museo (the museum), is a museum at 1230 Fifth Avenue in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is located near the northern end of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile, immediately north of the Museum of the City ...

's School of the Arts from 1979 to 1980.Interview
On 4 April 1980, Escobar was among eleven FALN members arrested by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, under the suspicion of plotting to bomb Federal installations. They were charged with

seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

conspiracy and related charges. During and after the trial he maintained his position that he and the others were

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. Escobar was sentenced to a prison term of 68 years which was to be served in the

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

El Reno El Reno is a city in and county seat of Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 16,989, marking a change of 1.55% from 16,729, recorded in the 2010 census. The city was begun shortly after the 18 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

.Escobar
On 7 September 1999, Escobar and the ten other prisoners who were arrested with him were granted clemency by

President Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again f ...

. Escobar returned to Puerto Rico immediately upon his release.

Artistic work

During his incarceration, Escobar used his free time to produce much of his art work. He also wrote about art and his theories about art were published in journals like ''Rethinking Marxism'', ''Third Test'' and ''Left Curve''. Escobar argued against the use of art as political propaganda and was in favor of artistic autonomy. While serving his prison term, a series of his art work, which he titled ''Art as an Act of Liberation'', was exhibited in the following galleries: * The Axe Street Arena * Galeria Kalpulli * Polvo, Chicago * Casa de Arte y Cultura/Calles y Sueños, Chicago * Rafael Cintrón-Ortiz Cultural Center, Chicago * ABC No Rio Gallery, New York City * The Dissident Voices Gallery, Philadelphia *

Museo de Arte de Ponce Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) is an art museum located on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Ven al Sur, page 20. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2003. It houses a collection of European a ...

Among his better known works are ''Los sepultureros (1985)'', El velorio (1991)'', and ''El embalsamador y la viuda (2001)''. Among the magazines which have published his works are: ''Beginnings'', ''Currents'', ''Left Curve'', ''De Pie y En Lucha'' and ''Polvo''. His poems have been published in the Anthology of Latino Poets in New York. In 2013, he presented his new book "Anti-diario de Prisión: El beso del pensamiento" and displayed at Centro Cultural Carmen Solá de Pereira.

Later years

Escobar was the Dean of the Painting Department at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. His paintings have been exhibited in New York, Chicago,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and at the

Institute of Puerto Rican Culture The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture ( es, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña), or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preser ...

. He has authored two books, "Speech in the Night" and "Sonia Semenovena", published by Quinera editors.

Honors

Elizam Escobar is honored at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens. In 2016 "La Campechada", celebration in honor of

Jose Campeche Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

, Puerto Rican painter of the 18th century, considered one of the most important painters of his era, was dedicated to Elizam Escobar. He was also honored at the 2021

Feria de Artesanías de Ponce The Feria de Artesanías de Ponce (English: Ponce Crafts Fair), formally, Feria de Artesanías y Muestra de Arte de Ponce (Ponce Crafts Fair and Arts Expo), is an event that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where artists, craftsm ...

"for having, for decades, left the mark of revolutionary ideals in his works."''Ponce se reactiva: vuelve a la plaza su Feria de Artesanías.''
La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Accessed 17 March 2021. (Printed Edition: Year 36. Issue 1946. 17–23 March 2021. Pages 6, 11.
Archived.
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References

External links

Not Enough Space
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Elizam 1948 births 2021 deaths Puerto Rican painters Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican male writers Recipients of American presidential pardons Puerto Rican prisoners and detainees Imprisoned Puerto Rican independence activists Painters from Ponce Puerto Rican independence activists Deaths from cancer in Puerto Rico