Josephine Baker

Intrigued by Douglas Pérez Castro's depiction of Josephine Baker in Pig Whipping (scroll down or CLICK) I did a modicum of research. There is a Josephine Baker website dedicated to her memory (CLICK). A black American born on the wrong side of the tracks, she managed to make a living dancing in the USA, but when she appeared in Paris in La Revue Nègre, her Danse Sauvage proved an overnight success. (Note the poster in the Castro painting.) Josephine subsequently starred in La Folie du Jour at the Follies-Bergère. She was a huge success in Europe and her showbiz career lasted 50 years. She was an animal lover and did include a pig in her menagerie. She died from a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12 1975. The YouTube video shows her dancing to Charleston Baby in 1927.