“El Arroz Frito Me Encanta” (1972)
by Ramon Arroyo Cisneros (Arroyito) (1904-1984)
9 x 13 in., pencil and ink on paper
Coppola Collection

The Fried Rice I love!

Published in the El Nuevo Dia Newspaper (Puerto Rico), commemorating the groundbreaking 1972 visit of the US President to China.

The verb construction “me encanta” designates love in the way of enchantment or adoration as opposed to romantic love (yo amo).

This is likely a commentary on the Nixon/Mao bromance.

Originally from Havana, Arroyito was an award-wining artist and began his professional career in 1919 as a political caricaturist– but he was also a political activist who was exiled from Cuba to various locations in the Americas five times. He landed in Puerto Rico in 1963 and worked for the El Nuevo Dia for the rest of his life.