Killing Mapepe: Sex and Death in Cold War Vieques Artist Talk

Killing Mapepe: Sex and Death in Cold War Vieques is a narrative photographic exhibition by Bonnie Donohue and Katherine McCaffrey, about a racially charged M**der in Vieques, Puerto Rico on April 4, 1953. Julian Felipe (Mapepe) Francis was the proprietor of El Bosque Bar, frequented by marines and sailors deployed to intensive combat training on the island. His bar was the last stop for men on liberty leave before returning to the navy base camp. On that day, a group of inebriated white sailors precipitated a raucous brawl over a local sex worker who chose to lie with a sober young Puerto Rican marine instead of with them. Erupting in fury, they turned their rage on Mapepe, whom they beat to death, with branches broken from his mango tree, when he intervened in their attack on the young woman and her client. Although they were courts-martialed for the M**der, they were acquitted, and no one was ever held responsible for the crime. This intensely researched exhibition attempts to symbolically resolve the unfinished business of holding the marines accountable for the brutal M**der of a beloved member of the Vieques community.

THIS IS A HYBRID EVENT. You may also attend on zoom.

In order to receive the password, you must register for this event, and choose the Zoom Add-On. The password will be sent in a confirmation email (scroll to the very bottom of your confirmation email to see the link and password).

Event Venue

Kingston Gallery, 450 Harrison Avenue, Boston, United States