Papo Colo

Papo Colo (b. 1946, Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico) is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, actor, musician, writer, painter, graphic designer, and curator who emerged as a pioneering figure in the New York art scene of the 1970s. His performances are known for their physical intensity and sharp social commentary, addressing issues of colonialism, identity, and Puerto Rican struggles in both the island and diaspora. His seminal work Superman 51(1977), in which he tied 51 wooden planks to his body—symbolizing the 50 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico—and ran shirtless down a Manhattan Streetuntil collapsing, protested President Gerald Ford’s rejection of Puerto Rican statehood. The performance became an enduring symbol of resistance, sacrifice, and political critique. “I refuse to have any identity,” he says. “In reality, we are so mixed up –not only Latinos or blacks, but Russians, Italians, Irish –to have any identity is like to have a fake passport. It’s an absurdity. He crusades for the eradication of racial and ethnic identity with a palpable sense of urgency”.