Maritana Quaresma’s Instagram Diary Celebrates Her Body’s Strength and Power
To see more of Maritana’s journey and art, follow @maritanaquaresma on Instagram.
While undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Brazilian artist Maritana Quaresma (@maritanaquaresma) transformed her Instagram feed into a cancer diary. “I wrote and drew when I was sick. I didn’t wait until I felt better to write about it,” says the 29-year-old from Rio de Janeiro.
After several non-Portuguese-speaking friends expressed concern over her illness, Maritana added English captions. “All over the world people were sick too, and they felt very strong when they saw my drawings. I started getting messages from here in Latin America, sometimes Europe, sometimes Asia,” she explains. “It was like I had a power that I didn’t realize, and I could make people feel good.” After two surgeries and six months of chemotherapy, Maritana is in remission. “I don’t regret it, even if I have my limitations. This is me.”
