He has an optimistic and positive vision about life that has taken him from the typical poverty of our farmers to become an independent painter working to be a small businessman at the age of 30 years.
Two months ago opened The Güegüense at The Cultural Hotel, a place that reflects the art and culture of our country and has within its vision and mission to promote the human talent in Nicaragua. Throughout the hotel there are murals alluding to our customs, folkclore and idiosyncrasies so that any guest can have a very good idea of how we are Nicaraguans. The novelty of the Hotel is going to promote sustainable and a thematic tourism by encouraging the use of the local.
The talented painter who carefully prepared the wall is from a humble farming family in the rural area of Jalapa, in the community of Zacateros. He was born in the year 1980 and lost his father who died in the war serving in their military service. He tells us in an interview we did it with his own words:
– I started as a painter empirically since the age of 10 drawing comics for my classmates. At that time my family had migrated to the semi-rural areas of the town of Jalapa. I did also pictures of my aunts and cousins. Then I joined the Popular Culture Center and when the Association of Cultural Promoters was formed I joined and they sent me to receive my first painting course in 1994.
– What is your favorite painting style and how your career unfolded?
– My favorite style is the landscaping and everything to do with our art and culture. After receiving the first course of painting I started to work like a semi-professional. Then they sent me to take other courses at the School of Fine Arts in Managua and the Casa de los Tres Mundos (house of the three worlds) in Granada. In 1996 I started to paint professionally and living in Managua, Ciudad Sandino. I made several painting exhibitions in Managua and the departments also participated in group exhibitions in Sweden, Holland, USA and Japan. I traveled to Spain to make a stage at a gathering of social issues.
– What did you think when the owners of the Hotel El Güegüense hired you to make this work?
– As I am a person connected with the culture, it seemed to me an excellent idea. I thought: «There are people in Nicaragua who still want to promote our culture.» Represent our culture in a mural is not easy because it would require a big mural that would reach the border. So I decided to make an iconography of each department. For example, I represented Masaya with an artisan pregnant woman, because our craftsmen are people very fruitful for the country and our economy. They worry that their descendants continue the tradition of artisans, so we have entire families involved in this art. To Carazo I pictured Diriamba´s watch and at the foot of the Gueguense characters dancing also the play The Gueguense was declared a UNESCO world heritage and that is very worthy.
In the work of the Güegüense certainly are a number of characteristics of the mode of being of Nicaragua: the hyperbole to count things or events that happened or will happen in everyday life, how clever to achieve «good» opportunities situations, to make fun of his own tragedy, comedy, the humor euphemistic, the air of Crow, the ability to communicate with each other and use «smart» words, suspicion before others, but at the same time candor with the things that are promised, in short a number of qualities of the personality of the Nicaraguan who is recognizable anywhere in the world.
– There are Nicaraguan artists and people who have researched and studied this work, they say it is not right for us to identify with a character who is a deceiver, a liar, and other negative characteristics of it, what do you think of this?
– Well, as in every culture there are positives and negatives aspects and Nicaraguans should learn to see things from the positive side. This character is not 100% negative qualities, he has its positive aspects, like the subtle way to tell the truth, defend their rights and see opportunity, at the end you need to look more deeply into why he behave that way and depending on the perspective you see it so you judge, but also ourselves, who are we to judge the role of a character that was created at the time of colonization. The reality is that you cannot ignore that the several qualities of this character are incorporated in us; he is part of our history and culture. For this reason the people at the grassroots level is identified with him.
– How do you feel about the results of this work in the Hotel?
– I am very satisfied, is a breakthrough in my work, one element in my CV like a painter and a small contribution to the culture of Nicaragua. I appreciate the opportunity given to me in this hotel and it is good that Nicaraguan entrepreneurs promote their own culture.
– What are your future plans?
– Continue painting; go with paintings and murals but from a different perspective. I’m creating a micro-enterprise with social responsibility relating «Art with social sensitivity.»
– Where we can find you for any job?
– A very good idea is to come to the Hotel to see the quality of my work, they will gladly show you. The address is From Montoya Statue 1 ½ blocks to the south, tel: 505-22680407 and also you can call to my cell phone at 505-86148671 or email pinell02@gmail.com. The website of the hotel is www.hotelelgueguense.com.
Author: María Esperanza García, communicator.
Hotel El gueguense's Blog 