"At a time when there was a lot of ugliness out there, when the Spanish were punished for speaking, when Latinos had to walk in the back door to eat, José Cisneros painted beauty, At that time, in those moments of ugliness, our maestro painted beauty for us."
EL PASO — The world knew José Cisneros as a great painter.
He was much more than that in El Paso, where his work turned heads and tore down barriers.
Cisneros, who died Saturday at age 99, was a gentle man and a devout Catholic who used his talent to battle racism, said Monsignor Arturo Bañuelas, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Community. Bañuelas gave the eulogy Wednesday at Cisneros’ funeral.
“At a time when there was a lot of ugliness out there, when the Spanish were punished for speaking, when Latinos had to walk in the back door to eat, José Cisneros painted beauty,” Bañuelas said. “At that time, in those moments of ugliness, our maestro painted beauty for us.”
By showing that he, a Hispanic, could paint as well as anyone else, Cisneros was showing El Paso that minorities belonged.
“With the stroke of a pen and a pencil he challenged racism,” Bañuelas said.
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