Its an hour before closing, and the Historical Museum of South Florida is nearly empty, just the way Maria Checa likes it. Slowly, as if treading on hallowed ground, the Bogotá-born Miss August wanders through the exhibits and stops, transfixed, in front of a 19th century photograph of a huge banyan tree. "As a child," relates Maria with a faint Colombian accent, "I would swing from the vines of a tree just like that one and play for hours under its maze of hanging roots. This picture brings back a million wonderful memories. That is the power of great photography." Maria should know. She's a photographer herself, having studied the craft since she was 17 years old. She shoots primarily with black-and-white film and develops her own pictures, usually portraits of friends or photographs of the art deco architecture in Miami's South Beach neighborhood, where she lives. But this self-proclaimed visual artist expresses herself with more than a camera. Maria also paints in acrylics and watercolors, sketches with charcoal, sculpts and creates three-dimensional mixed-media art. Back at her studio apartment, where she has painted a trompe l'oeil sky on the wall, she pulls a painting from behind an antique armchair that she's reupholstering. Monet, Maria's Himalayan cat, jumps onto her lap for a closer look at the bemused figure on the canvas. "This could represent me," Maria says. "Confused at times, on the fence, open to whatever comes next. I'm quite shy, so I express myself through my artwork." Maria's father introduced her to art by buying her brushes and paints when she was just a child. "He never gave me coloring books, though, because just filling in the blanks requires no creativity. I always knew I had talent, and I wanted to prove it." Maria got her chance after her family moved to Miami in the later Seventies, where she was later accepted at the New World School of the Arts, a high school for artistically gifted teens. After graduating, Maria went on to the Maryland Institute College of Art. Finances forced her to return to Miami, where she now supports herself as a makeup artist for photo shoots and at the cosmetics counter in a department store. "I still feel a passion for art. But sometimes, my job takes precedence over my artwork." Maria hopes being a Playmate will provide new artistic opportunities. Since appearing in the 40th Anniversary Issue of Playboy, she has become somewhat of a celebrity both here and in her homeland. What lies ahead for Maria? "Who knows what great things will develop from these photos," she muses. "My future is a blank canvas just waiting to be painted."
Playmate Data Sheet
Name: Maria Checa
Bust: 32-C
Waist: 23
Hips: 33
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 95
Birth Date: 7-29-70
Birthplace: Bogotá, Colombia
Ambitions: To live life to its fullest, have a beautiful family and a successful career.
Turn-ons: A romantic candle light dinner overlooking the ocean at sunset with someone I care about.
Turnoffs: People who are always late, People who are dishonest, self-centered and have no ambition.
The Way to My Heart: Is by spoiling me with attention. I love for a man to make me feel like I'm number one in his life.
If I were Invisible: Life would be less challenging, because it would make it too easy to find the answers to my questions.
I may be tiny: But haven't you heard? Good things come in small packages.
I wish I had: The ability to read minds.
