Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-26

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MASTER SPECIALIST
ANTONIO CORTIZAS
u. S. Army Photo,
General Hospital in Springfield,
Mo, where he was stationed.
Finally he came up with a suit.
able pigment that would meet
medical requirements. Regular
tattoo pigments were either too
toxic or impermanent for his
needs.
Specialist Cortizas demonstra-
TED his idea on his own skin in
the Office of the chief of plastic
service.
500 Soldiers Helped
Since that day. more than 500
war wounded soldiers have
thanked Specialist Cortizas for
minimizing their facial scals
with his tattooing technique.
Using skin-toned pigmented ma
terial, he was able to minimize
the scars by blending in the
vivid scar tissue with the pa
tents normal skin shade.
He used the same technique
with the disease-marked faces of
the leperS in Carville. La.
Specialist Cortizas went to
Carville of his own accord. Once
after putting color into a VIC
TINS blue-gray lips and subSti-
Itutlng tattooed eyebrows for
those lost in leprosy, he handed
the patient a mirror.
THANK you" the leper said.
"At least, l can now bear to
look at myself"
He also developed a technique
for tattooing the iris of blind
persons whose eye-color was
prone to fade.
DiSOwned by Father
Specialist Coltizas' wealthy
father disoWned him when he
came to the United States to
study art. He attended Rider
College IN Trenton. New Jer-
sey School of Industrial Art
ana the Pennsylvania Acad-
envy of Fine Arts. To paw
his way lie worked with
a road gang. When fellow
workers discovered he was an
artist. however, they wouldn't
let the Cuban do work that
would iniure his hands. Just
small work like carrying water.
Later Specialist Cortizas was
art director in Philadelphia
public schools. But he quit be-
cause he said there was no
chance to develop individuality
among his students. That
thought remained with him and
III Washington he carried on
at his own expense, general arts
and science classes for children.
He taught a group of Chevy
Chase children as well as South
west children and also retarded
children in Philadelphia. Each
year the children fashioned toys
which they distributed at Christ
mas time to underprivileged
children. He taught the chill
oren also what makes plants
grow, how factories operate
how to get along with one an
other and a little of the relation
ship Of man to God.
He started community gar
den for the children in his neigh
oorhood. He lived at 2I5 Eighth
street S.W.
AT one time he was head of
the Swarthmore College sculp-
ture department.
Used Realistic Aids
Sculpturing actually inspired
Specialist Cortizas' first medi-
cal-art idea. Instead of charts
he suggested, why not use sculp-
tured forms to teach anatomy to
medical corpsmen. Later he
worked on even more realistic
aids. Using rubber. he created
body parts with lifelike wounds
A mechanical attachment simu-
lated bleeding in the wounds.
His accurate and detailed plas-
tic reproductions of the life cycle
OF malaria and other germs have
been exhibited by the Army in
medical meetings throughout the
country and in Panama.
His latest work was a bust of
DR.. Albert Schweitzer, the hui
manitarian and medical mission
airy. The bust was unveiled re-
Gently at the annual scientific
assembly of the D. C. Medical
Society. Among the get well
messages he received while in
Walter Reed, was a cablegram
last month from DR.. Schweitzer.
Specialist Cortizas. whose clas-
sification was recently changed
from sergeant to master special
list, is survived by a sister. Mrs.
Maria DeBelaz in Nubitas. Cuba