David Alfaro Siqueiros Artist

David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros, December 29, 1896, in Chihuahua, Chih. - January 6, 1974, in Cuernavaca, Morelos) was a Mexican social realist painter, better known for his large murals in fresco. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, he established "Mexican Muralism." He was a Stalinist and member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Leon Trotsky in May 1940.His surname was Alfaro; like another eminent 20th century painter, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso, Siqueiros went by his mother's surname. It was long believed that he was born in Camargo, Chihuahua, but in 2003 it was proven that he had actually been born in Chihuahua's capital city but grew up in Irapuato, Guanajuato, at least from the age of six. The discovery of his birth certificate, made by a Mexican art curator, was announced the following year (2004) by art critic Raquel Tibol, who was renowned as the leading authority on Mexican Muralism and who had been a close acquaintance of Siqueiros. Siqueiros switched his given name to "David" after his first wife took to calling him it admiringly, in allusion to Michelangelo's, David. Another factual confusion is the year of his birth. He was born in 1896 but many sources state 1898 or 1899.

Personal facts

Birth date	December 29, 1896
Birth place	Camargo Chihuahua , Chihuahua (state) , Mexico
Date of death	January 06, 1974
Place of death	Cuernavaca , Morelos , Mexico