<I>Marta de Jesus, Spiritualist</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1982
name: label: Photograph by
content: Frank Espada, Puerto Rican, 1930 - 2014
label: Subject of
content: Marta de Jesús, American
notes: label: Description
content: A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Marta de Jesus, a practitioner of Lucumí faith and founder of the temple El Centro San Lázaro in Hartford, Connecticut. She is seated in front of shelves of religious figurines and spiritual bath bottles. Marta wears an all-white dress and a white head covering. At the center of her lap, Marta’s hands meet. She has a thin chain bracelet on her proper right wrist. On her proper left wrist is a thicker band and she wears a ring on her index finger.
label: Description
content: Marta wears several beaded necklaces, also known as elekés and collares. Ritually, these elekés are color and number coded for a certain orisha, or deity. On Marta, there is one prominent necklace laying atop of all others; it is held on a thin necklace with a rectangular pendant with an indistinguishable figure on it. On her proper upper left chest, Marta wears a brooch.
label: Description
content: There are no inscriptions on the front of the print. An inscription on the back of the print notes the photographer, date, location, and subject. Other inscriptions include the photographer’s signature and alpha-numerical inscriptions from the photographer.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
label: Cultural Place
content: Puerto Rico, United States, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
label: Cultural Place
content: West Africa, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Prayer
label: Topic
content: Religion
label: Topic
content: Spirituality
label: Topic
content: Urban life
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: The Puerto Rican Diaspora Documentary Project
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.53.18
objectType: label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Estate of Frank Espada
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm)