Tito Enrique Cánepa Jiménez

Tito Enrique Cánepa Jiménez

Dominican Immigrants|Dominican Veterans|Dominicans in Politics|Dominicans in the United States|Rafael Leónidas Trujillo|World War II

CUNY Dominican Studies Institute

The Cánepa Family and the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Archives

1916-2014

Edward De Jesús, Principal Investigator / Curator

Ruth Lizardi, Coordinator / Assistant Curator

Dr. Ramona Hernández, Director, CUNY DSI & Professor of Sociology, The City College of New York

Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Assistant Director

Idilio Gracia Peña, Chief Archivist

Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian

Jessy J. Pérez, Archivist

Jhensen Ortiz, Assistant Librarian

Groana G. Meléndez, Photography Editor

Norma Guzmán and Donald Mounts, Researchers

Dr. Tim Williams, Senior Editor

Mariel Acosta, Katie Duarte, Shaday Fermín, and Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Editors

John P. Bimbiras, Edward De Jesús, Jhensen Ortiz, Jessy J. Pérez, Sophia Monegro and Natalie A. Studt, Biography Text Writers

Isabelia Herrera, Grant Writer

Javier Pichardo, Graphic Artist

Sponsor: CUNY Dominican Studies Institute

Sponsor: Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at The City College of New York

Sponsor: Latino Americans: 500 Years - National Endowment for the Humanities

Sponsor: American Library Association

Sponsor: New York City Council

Sponsor: Smithsonian Latino Center

Sponsor: Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro)

Sponsor: The Documentary Forum - CCNY Center for Film, Journalism, and Interactive Media

Sponsor: Dominican Students Association

24" x 36" panel

English

Tito Enrique Cánepa Jiménez was born on September 21, 1916 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican republic. Concerned about his participation in the political movement against the Trujillo dictatorship, his family sent him to New York City. He arrived in New York on May 27, 1935 at the age of 18.

During World War II, Cánepa was drafted into the U.S. Army on September 1, 1942. He became a U.S. citizen on December 11, 1942 while training as a Private at Camp Robinson in Arkansas. He rose to Technician Fifth Grade as an information specialist for Spanish instructional films in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the Photo graphic Center. He was the assistant director of several equipment training films sent to Latin America during the war. he married modern dancer Florence Lessing in 1944 and the couple had two children, Eric and Cathy. Honorably discharged on February 4, 1946, Cánepa joined the U.S. Army Pictorial Center after the war, where he would continue to work for over 20 years, becoming a producer for the Special Films Branch.

Cánepa's rebellion against the Trujillo dictatorship was part of his lifelong commitment for the defense of freedom. His household in Manhattan was a hub of frequent gatherings of anti-Trujillo Dominican exiles and he was in contact with those planning the Cayo Confites invasion. While working at the Pictorial Center, Cánepa used Radio Swan for anti-Trujillo programs. Cánepa also continued to work as a masterful and widely admired artist throughout his life. Cánepa's work received early recognition when it was exhibited in New York City in the 1950s, and also in the Dominican republic, despite the dictatorship. He died on February 11, 2014.