Paul del Rio (born 1943) is a Venezuelan sculptor and painter. Paul del Rio combines modernism, cubism and surrealism to create enigmatic paintings that are usually a social commentary on the harshness of modern urban life for ordinary people, and their longing for a different life. Originally from Spain, his parents were exiled to France after the fall of the republic and then immigrated to La Habana, Cuba where he was born with the name Máximo Canales. His family moved once more to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela his first year.
It was not as an artist however, but as a revolutionary that Paul del Rio (as Canales) first gained fame. On the night of August 24, 1963, at the age of 19 as a leader of a Venezuelan revolutionary group the Armed Forces of National Liberation, Paul del Rio kidnapped famed Argentine football (soccer) player Alfredo Di Stéfano at gunpoint for three days from the Potomac Hotel in Caracas while his team, Real Madrid, were on a pre-season tour of South America. The kidnapping was codenamed "Julian Grimau", after the Spanish communist Julián Grimau García killed by firing squad in April. Di Stefano was released unharmed two days later without ransom close to the Spanish embassy. A Spanish movie entitled "Real, La Película" ("Real, The Movie") which recounted these events was released in August 25, 2005. In a bizarre publicity stunt at the premiere, both kidnapper, now a famous artist, and soccer player were reunited for the first time in 42 years since the abduction.
The FALN was attempting to emulate Fidel Castro's anti-imperialist overthrow in Cuba. Previous to the Di Stéfano kidnapping, the revolutionary group had seized a Venezuelan cargo ship Anzoategui in February. Other terrorist activities attributed to the FALN, including an assassination attempt on Betancourt were also reported.
In 1966, Paul del Rio began to make political cartoons under the pseudonym "URBA", and gradually began to find alternate means of expressing his political views through art. In 1975, he recovered his Venezuelan nationality which had been stripped from his entire family by President Rómulo Betancourt (administration 1959-1964). The gallery Viva Mexico was the first gallery to successfully exhibit his work.
From 1974 to 1993, Paul del Rio exhibited his work in several exhibitions in Spain, Mexico, Finland, Japan, Romania, Colombia, Germany, Canada and Austria. During this period, in 1979 he joined the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua.
In 2000, Paul del Rio designed his bronze sculpture "Mano Mineral" ("Mineral Hand") for the Orden Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso (Order of Juan Pablo Perez Alfonso), the Venezuelan award of state given to those who contribute to works related to mining, hydrocarbons (petroleum) and energy. The Venezuelan Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso was the founder of OPEC, an idea he conceived while exiled in the United States during his review of the Texas Railroad Commission. Mano Mineral can be seen outside the OPEC building in Vienna, donated by the Government of Venezuela to the City of Vienna in 2003. The sculpture symbolizes the oil that emerges from that country. 2.20 metres high, it is a casting of the emblem of the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government of OPEC Member Countries, which Venezuela hosted in Caracas on September 27–28, 2000. A copy was also unveiled in May 2003 as a monument in Caracas, named "Monumento a La Paz" ("Monument for Peace").
Celarg Foundation [1]
ESPN Soccernet "The Kidnap of Di Stefano" by Jon Carter, August 25, 2011 [2]
2008 Interview (in Spanish) [3]
1998 Venezuelan Congress decree for the Order of Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo [4]
2004 example of political activism (in Spanish) [5]
OPEC Bulletin, Volume XXXX, No. 7, page 5 [6]
Center for Contemporary Arts (in Spanish) [7]