Illustration by Nuestro Stories.
Talking about Hena Rodríguez Parra, means talking about talent, authenticity, and modernity. Aside from being an outstanding artist, she also pioneered activities and practices not traditionally associated with women in Colombia.
Born in Bogota, Colombia, on May 10, 1915, Rodríguez dedicated her entire life to the arts. In 1930 she enrolled in the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Bogota to study painting and sculpture.
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Who Was Hena Rodríguez Parra?
At the beginning of the 20th century, women in Colombia weren’t allowed to paint and draw anything that included nudity. However, the bogotana was one of the first women in Colombia to paint nudes, doing so outside the academic canons.
Rodríguez joined the Bachué movement, which promoted art and literature from a local standpoint. The artist was the first woman in Colombia to receive a government scholarship to study arts abroad. She used the scholarship to extend her knowledge in sculpture, drawing, and painting in Paris.
Integrating into the art world in her Latin American country, largely dominated by men, Rodríguez was also one of the first women in Colombia to wear pants and openly come out as lesbian. Her self-identification went beyond her sexual orientation. She surpassed the limit of gender identity as she grew up and surrounded herself in a society that defined people according to their biological characteristics. Rodríguez represented women in a way that was much ahead of her time.
After moving back to her native Colombia, the artist dedicated her life to teaching at several institutions like the Universidad de los Andes, where she founded the first art studio known as Sección Femenina.
In 1982, the Colombian government invited Rodríguez to be part of the commission that accompanied author Gabriel García Márquez to receive the Noble Prize for Literature in Stockholm, Sweden.
Hena Rodríguez Parra died in Bogota, Colombia, on April 17, 1997.
