A portrait of Rep. Nydia Velázquez was unveiled in the Capitol on Tuesday. Photo via @RepEspaillat
Sept. 20, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan
A vivid portrait of U.S Rep. Nydia Velázquez, which blends her Puerto Rican identity and New York constituency, was unveiled in Congress on Tuesday.
The ceremony was attended by high-ranking members of the Democratic party, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who also hails from Puerto Rico. More locally, North Brooklyn city council members Lincoln Rester, Sandy Nurse, and Jennifer Gutiérrez traveled to Washington, D.C., for the event.
“Everyone who saw it came to the conclusion that the Capitol will never be the same,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries at the unveiling, according to El Nuevo Dia.
Now serving her 16th term representing Brooklyn and Queens, Velázquez made history as the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the House of Representatives in 1992. It was only fitting that the painting was showcased during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and New York Senator Chuck Shumer delivered remarks at the unveiling ceremony. Photo via @SenSchumer
The artist behind the portrait is Antonio Martorell, a Puerto Rican painter and writer who is one of the island’s most celebrated artists. Last year, President Biden awarded him the National Medal of Arts.
In an interview with the Queens Post, he shared that while he’s done plenty of caricatures of politicians over the years, this marked his first portrait of a sitting elected official.
“It all began more than 30 years ago,” said Martorell, recounting their first meeting in New York. “I was very impressed by her character so I wanted to do a portrait then. I knew she would go a long way. But the whole idea got postponed indefinitely.”
Velázquez became the first Hispanic woman to serve as a ranking member of a full House committee, the Small Business Committee. And in 2006, she made history again by being elected chairperson of the HSBC, a first for a Latina representative.
About a year and a half ago, he got a call from the congresswoman in Washington who told him it was finally time for that portrait. Over three sitting sessions, two of which were out of his studio in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he painted the congresswoman with full artistic independence.
Antonio Martorell says he first had the idea to do a portrait of Velázquez over thirty years ago.
Photo via @RepMenendez
Martorell insisted that she had to be standing up in the portrait, in opposition to traditional portraits of elected officials. He also knew that it would be colorful, so he zoomed out enough to display various elements of Puerto Rico and NYC in a more fluid and abstract way.
“The rest of the portraits are all very traditional, quite dark, very realistic and somber. And now this one is powerful,” he said, noting that most of the other portraits on display in the Capitol building are of white male leaders. “We had to be different.”
To her left stands a Flamboyan tree, also known as a flame tree, which frequently appears as a symbol in Puerto Rican art. The background showcases the Brooklyn Bridge at night.
A gavel and a mallet sit on the chair next to her as symbols of authority. At the bottom of the painting is a tiled floor commonly found in homes on the island.
He recalls that the entire project took around six months to complete. When he deemed the portrait complete last year, he mailed it to Washington, D.C., to be framed.
It wasn’t until Tuesday evening that he saw it again. Sitting among first time viewers, in what he said felt like his first time too, when a heavy red curtain was lifted. It displayed what is now one of the most colorful and non-traditional portraits in the Capitol.
City Council Members whose districts overlap with the congresswoman’s attended the ceremony on Tuesday. Photo via @kristina_nap
“She has broken barriers and delivered for small businesses and families, especially when the nation needed it most during the pandemic. This is a proud and inspiring moment for Latinas, women, and leaders across the country,” shared Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who represents Upper Manhattan and the West Bronx, on social media.
As New York Senator Chuck Schumer pointed out, Rep. Velázquez is nicknamed La Luchadora after a female Mexican wrestler character, a reminder of her toughness and perseverance.
“She doesn’t take no for an answer, she goes forward. She’s a fighter. She’s done a good job both for her constituency in this state and for the people of Puerto Rico,” said Martorell. “To represent that in a painting is meaningful.”
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