Subcomandante Marcos is the nom de guerre used by Rafael Guillén Vicente, the main ideologist, spokesperson and de facto leader of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a Mexican rebel movement fighting for the rights of the indigenous peoples of Mexico. The EZLN group takes its name from agrarian reformer Emiliano Zapata. On January 1, 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) became effective, Marcos led an army of Mayan farmers into eastern Chiapas state, to protest the Mexican federal government’s mistreatment of the nation’s indigenous peoples. Marcos is also a writer, a political poet and an anti-capitalist. He wears a black ski mask, often with a tobacco pipe sticking out, and a watch on each wrist. Nearly all EZLN villages have murals featuring Zapata, Che Guevara and Subcomandante Marcos. According to the Mexican government, Guillén was born on June 19, 1957.
My wife Heidi has a particular fascination with the mystery and mythology of Subcomandante Marcos. This pixel art character was suggested by her. Also, I am now dropping my publishing schedule to two 8-bit characters per week, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
John Wayne (born Marion Morrison) was an American film actor, director and producer. An Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk and height. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa but grew up in the greater Los Angeles area. His role as the Ringo Kid in John Ford’s breakthrough Stagecoach (1939) made him an instant superstar. Wayne would go on to star in more than 160 movies, primarily typecast in Western films. Among his most acclaimed films are The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), Rio Bravo (1959) and True Grit (1969). Wayne was on born on May 26, 1907.
Lou Gehrig was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 17-season career with the New York Yankees. His durability earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse.” Gehrig played first base until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disorder now commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He played in 2,130 consecutive games over a 15-season span (1925-1939). This streak ended only when Gehrig became disabled by the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life two years later. He is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Joe Montana is a retired National Football League (NFL) player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played for 14 seasons. Traded before the 1993 season, he spent his final two years in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started in four Super Bowl games (1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989) and won all of them.
Kim Clijsters is a Belgian tennis player. She won four Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles. Clijsters retired in 2007 to have a child, but returned to tennis in 2009. In only her third tournament back, she won her second U.S. Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980. At age 29, Clijsters just retired to have a second child. The U.S. Open in 2012 was her final tournament. I guess I need to choose a new favorite WTA player.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #8 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
Justine Henin is a Belgian former tennis player. She won seven Grand Slam singles titles from 2001-2007. Henin also won the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She is a very gifted athlete with the best one-handed backhand in the women’s game (and probably the men’s game too, unless you think the Federer backhand is better).
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #7 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
Venus Williams is an American tennis player. In 2002, she became the first African-American woman to achieve a world No. 1 ranking in the Open Era. Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (with her younger sister Serena) and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She has also won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles (2000) and three in women’s doubles (2000, 2008 and 2012).
Note: Venus wore this controversial lacy corset dress at the French Open in 2010. This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
Steffi Graf is a German former tennis player. She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any tennis player in the Open Era. In 1988, she became the only player to achieve a Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Graf was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 total weeks. Many consider her the greatest women’s tennis player of all time. Graf retired in 1999 and married Andre Agassi in 2001.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #1 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player who has won five Grand Slam singles titles, between 2008 and 2012. In 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the Open Era to win three Grand Slams in a calendar year. During 2011, he compiled in 43-match winning streak and finished the season with a 70-6 record and No. 1 in the world. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
This is 8-bit tennis character #8 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon. Also, Djokovic’s long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristić is possibly the most supportive and adorably emotive tennis fan ever. Happy Fourth of July!
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish tennis player who has won 11 Grand Slam singles titles, between 2005 and 2012. His wins include a record seven French Open titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time—and the greatest clay court player in history, as his nickname “The King of Clay” attests.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #7 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
George H. W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States. During his presidency, the U.S. started the Persian Gulf War (codenamed Operation Desert Storm) in 1991 response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Bush was born on this day in 1924. His eldest son served as the 43rd President of the United States.
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect and interior designer who believed in designing harmonious structures of organic architecture. This philosophy was best exemplified by his design for Fallingwater (1935) in Pennsylvania, which has been called “the best all-time work of American architecture.” Wright was born on this day in 1867.
Of Wright’s over 400 works, only one structure is located in Oregon. It’s the Gordon House at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. I plan to visit the Fallingwater property when I’m back in Pennsylvania later this month.
Rachel Carson was an American marine biologist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Her book Silent Spring (1962) documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. This led to a nationwide ban on DDT, and inspired a grassroots environmental movement that resulted in the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She was born on May 27, 1907.
Mr. Clutch is a former NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1960-1974. He played the guard position and is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. West’s silhouette serves as the current NBA logo.
Note: This is 8-bit character #8 of the 13 greatest NBA players of all time.
In early March 1945, Anne Frank died at age 15 in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. She later became of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Her diary documents her experiences hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II and chronicles two years of her life, from 1942 to 1944. Frank gained international fame posthumously after her diary was published in 1947.
A Swedish former tennis player who won 11 Grand Slam singles titles between 1974 and 1981 and then retired from the game at the age of 26. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles. Borg was the first “rock star” of professional tennis and was one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
An American rapper popularly known as Biggie Smalls and Big Poppa. He was a focal point of the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry and became a central figure in the East Coast hip hop scene. In March 1997, at age 24, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Sometimes your words just hypnotize me.
An American rapper and actor known by the stage name 2Pac. Themes of his songs include violence and hardship in inner cities, racism and other social problems. He was a focal point of the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry and died on this day in 1996, after being shot four times in a drive-by shooting following a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas. No changes.
An American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s TV series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. He is also known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle and his gold jewelry. This dude has been pitying fools for 30 years now.
Subcomandante Marcos – No. 639
Subcomandante Marcos is the nom de guerre used by Rafael Guillén Vicente, the main ideologist, spokesperson and de facto leader of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a Mexican rebel movement fighting for the rights of the indigenous peoples of Mexico. The EZLN group takes its name from agrarian reformer Emiliano Zapata. On January 1, 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) became effective, Marcos led an army of Mayan farmers into eastern Chiapas state, to protest the Mexican federal government’s mistreatment of the nation’s indigenous peoples. Marcos is also a writer, a political poet and an anti-capitalist. He wears a black ski mask, often with a tobacco pipe sticking out, and a watch on each wrist. Nearly all EZLN villages have murals featuring Zapata, Che Guevara and Subcomandante Marcos. According to the Mexican government, Guillén was born on June 19, 1957.
My wife Heidi has a particular fascination with the mystery and mythology of Subcomandante Marcos. This pixel art character was suggested by her. Also, I am now dropping my publishing schedule to two 8-bit characters per week, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays.