Guadalupe Rivera Marín, illustrated by Diego Rivera,
My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art/ Mi papá Diego y yo: Recuerdos di mi padre y su arte
Children’s Book Press, 2009.

Ages 5-10

As a child, Diego Rivera’s daughter, Guadalupe Rivera Marín, was often her artist father’s model. Her captivating bilingual memoir, My Papa Diego and Me, evolved from interviews with her by Children’s Book Press editors and is illustrated with Rivera’s paintings. It’s a wonderful introduction to the great Mexican muralist.

The inside front and back covers reproduce a detail from “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda,” a Rivera mural for the Bank of Mexico that includes his witty self-portrait as a boy: brightly striped socks, a lizard and a snake in his pockets, his famously bulging tummy already pressing against his buttoned vest. The first two paintings illustrating the text are of Marín herself as a little girl. Others depict a range of subjects of interest to children, from “La Piñata” to a Christmas procession (“Las Posadas”).

Marín discusses her father’s work and politics via the paintings. An image of a country teacher educating a small group of poor children (a detail from the mural “La maestra rural”) includes the commentary, “My father believed in the Revolution, and he taught me to always stand up for my beliefs.” Rivera painted women combing their hair, selling flowers, and sewing at home with children studying nearby. Of “La Familia,” a painting of a poor country woman and her two children, Marín explains, “The mother received this painting as a gift, which she sold to obtain enough money to start a new life for herself and her children in the city.”

Marín’s personal introduction to Rivera, accompanied by childhood photos of the family, stresses his love of children. Following the text is a double page of detailed art credits in English, with thumbnails of the paintings featured. A bilingual explanatory note accompanies a reproduction of the entire Bank of Mexico mural, and brief professional biographies of Marín and her father are also included.

My Papa Diego and Me promises a rich experience for children: a warm family memoir of a great artist, a bilingual text, and of course Rivera’s deeply appealing images. Marín and Children’s Book Press have produced an inspired and beautifully designed collaboration.

Charlotte Richardson
December 2009