Mario Banana, 1964

1:44 am in breaking by Nick-Norwood

Andy Warhol, Mario Banana (Nos. 1 and 2), 1964

Mario Montez (pseudonym of Rene Rivera, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1935) was one of the Warhol superstars, appearing in thirteen of Andy Warhol’s underground films from 1964 to 1966. He took his name as a male homage to the actress Maria Montez, an important gay icon in the fifties and sixties. Before appearing in Warhol’s films, he appeared in Jack Smith’s important underground films Flaming Creatures and Normal Love. Montez also stars in the Ron Rice film, Chumlum, made in 1964.

-w