Protests erupt after Mexican hero Zapata is depicted nude and in high heels

MEXICO CITY - As paintings go, it is tiny - about the size of a cereal box.

But the controversy it has incited is huge.

There, riding bareback on a white horse, is Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary leader who, with his big mustache and steely gaze, has long been a symbol here for a certain kind of tough masculinity.

The painting challenges that image. In it, Zapata strikes a sensual pose and is nude except