I miei pensieri

Each one of the subjects of the paintings left me with something. I had to read each one of their stories on Asato's book "No Sabían que Somos Semillas". The picture above belongs to the rugby team "San Luis Club" where Ricardo Dakuyaku was playing  as a scrum. They made it to first division and got to tour around Europe in 1975. Each time someone would tackle Dakuyaku, he would get up smiling. He didn't want his adversaries to know that he was hurting. He also didn't quit trying to play rugby just because they would tell him to quit. He was the shortest rugby player at the time. After I read their chapters, I don't cry for them because their lives were sad, yes, they had a tragic ending, but while they were alive they had a lot to offer to the world. Lots of people loved them. But I cry sometimes because all the potential that we lost when the dictatorship killed them.

Ana Amelia Higa Architecture student, disappeared by the Argentinian dictatorship on June 16, 1977.

Jorge Eduardo Oshiro kidnapped on November 10, 1976 at the age of 18. He was a singer/musician.  High school student. He might look a little serious on the picture but it was because he didn't like having his picture taken and the flash was blinding him. That it was what his sister Elsa told me about this photo. He was nice and tender. I thought in this picture he had a cool attitude. To me it was one of the best painting that I did out of the series. I really enjoyed painting Jorge, we share the same last name, although we are not related. We got in common the singing and playing guitar. I like having things in common with my subjects.

Jorge Nakamura, kidnapped on May 6th, 1978 at the age of 21 years old. When I first saw his picture I thought it was going to be a challenge since I couldn't tell how his teeth looked like. When I finished his portrait I was happy, I couldn't stopped smiling back at him, I could tell he was a fun person to be around. I thought that I was able to capture his essence.

Primer cuadro de la serie de Desaparecidos Nikkei. First Painting of the Desaparecidos/Disappeared Nikkei. Oscar Oshiro's Portrait. My dad. Lawyer/Activist Desaparecido in Argentina  on April 21, 1977. I have been painting non-stop for almost two months. Reading the stories of the other Japanese descent people on Andres Asato's book. "No Sabian que Eramos Semillas". When I decided to paint the disappeared I had no idea that it was going to be so difficult, I thought that maybe my dad's painting was going to be hard because of the emotional involvement. But it turned out that I felt the same grief for the other 16 desaparecidos. I got to know some of the relatives that were carrying the same sadness in them. The same questions that I had. The pictures from forty years ago or more, were so faded or so dark with just dark shadows that it was hard to figure out the faces,  I had to read their stories and learn how they were like. I wanted