David Coons' Hispanic Female Alter Ego

From: Mikal <mikalm_at_ix.netcom.com_at_hypermail.org>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 20:57:09 -0700

(Got this one off Yahoo News.)

Nude Performance Artist Shocks Conservative Chile
Thu Jun 13, 3:03 PM ET

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A teen-age performance artist known as "Baby
Vamp" sent shock waves through Chile this week by strolling naked down city
streets in the conservative South American nation.


Sporting only sunglasses and a backpack, 17-year-old high school student
Lucia Fernanda Flores went nude on short outings in the city center as part
of a visual arts project.

Luizo Vega, organizer of the event said the so-called "Baby Vamp" project
was a playful jab at Chile, aimed at provoking debate in this bastion of
conservative Catholicism.

"Basically, we are playing with people's prejudices, with the double
standards that exist in Chile," Vega said on Chilean television. "I think
Chile needs to deal with these issues."

A horde of press photographers, most in heavy coats and scarves to keep out
the Southern Hemisphere's winter chill, followed Flores on a recent shopping
trip and visit to a hair salon. Witnesses said startled passersby turned
their heads in amazement.

The bleached-blonde Flores, a part-time model, canceled a planned naked
stroll on Wednesday because the size of the media pack restricted her
movements.

"The response of people on the street has been mostly positive. People
applaud, they shout 'Good one!' and other encouragement. The response has
been about 80 percent positive and 20 percent negative," Vega told Reuters.

Chile is the most socially conservative nation in Latin America. It is the
only democracy in the Western Hemisphere where divorce is illegal.

A popular television talk show dedicated several hours to discussing "Public
nudity, would you do it?" while newspapers featured full-length photographs
of the teen-ager. On one of the most-watched television channels, which is
tied to the Catholic Church, images of Flores were deliberately blurred to
hide her breasts and genitals.
Received on 2002-06-14 20:57:16