Paul del Rio

Paul del Rio (born 1943) is a popular Venezuelan sculptor and painter. Paul del Rio combines modernism, cubism and surrealism to create enigmatic paintings that are usually a social commentary on the harshness of modern urban life for ordinary people, and their longing for a different life. Born in La Habana, Cuba, his family moved to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela his first year.

It was not as an artist however, but as a revolutionary that Paul del Rio first gained fame. On August 24th, 1963, at the age of 19 as a member of a Venezuelan extremist group the National Liberation Army Front, Paul del Rio kidnapped famed Argentine football (soccer) player Alfredo di Stefano at gunpoint for three days from a Caracas hotel while his team the Real Madrid were on a pre-season tour of South America. Di Stefano was released unharmed two days later without ransom close to the spanish embassy. A Spanish movie entitled "Real, La Pelicula" ("Real, The Movie") which recounted these events was released in August 2005. In a bizarre publicity stunt at the premiere, both kidnapper, now a famous artist, and soccer player were reunited for the first time in 42 years since the abduction.