arte and music

ART: Guatemala’s rich history in the visual arts dates to pre-Columbian times, with the painting of exquisite murals and the carving of stelae by the Mayans. The colonial period also left a substantial artistic legacy, mostly by anonymous artists. An exception is the work of Thomas de Merlo (1694–1739), whose paintings can still be seen in Antigua’s Museo de Arte Colonial. Sculptor Quirio Cataño carved the Black Christ of Esquipulas in 1595, now an object of much veneration for pilgrims from all over Central America.

More recently, Kaqchikel painter Andrés Curruchich (1891–1969) pioneered the “primitivist” style of painting from his hometown in Comalapa, Chimaltenango. The currents of indigenismo ran strongly throughout the 20th century and were marked by an often-romanticized portrayal of indigenous culture, as evidenced by the murals found in Guatemala City’s Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, which are the work of Alfredo Gálvez Suárez (1899–1946). Also in this vein was sculptor Ricardo Galeotti Torres (1912–1988), whose works include the giant marimba sculpture found in Quetzaltenango and the Tecún Umán statue in the plaza of Santa Cruz del Quiché.

Perhaps Guatemala’s best-known visual artist, Carlos Mérida (1891–1984) was a contemporary of Pablo Picasso, whom he met while studying painting in Paris between 1908 and 1914. His indigenista art predates the work of Mexican muralists the likes of Diego Rivera by about seven years and sought to unify European modernism with themes more specific to the Americas. Mérida’s work exhibits three major stylistic shifts throughout the years: a figurative period from 1907 to 1926, a surrealist phase from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s, and a geometric period from 1950 until his death in 1984. Many of his works can be seen in Guatemala City’s Museum of Modern Art, which bears his name. Mérida’s murals also grace the walls of several Guatemala City public buildings.

Another artist whose work adorns Guatemala City architecture is sculptor and engineer Efraín Recinos, designer of the city’s Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias. A large Recinos mural composed of blue and green tiles was formerly housed inside La Aurora International Airport but was recently demolished as part of the airport renovation project. The large, white sculptures lining the airport’s exterior facade were also created by Recinos and have been restored and incorporated into the terminal’s new design.

In March 2007, Guatemala City hosted a sculpture festival with the participation of 12 internationally acclaimed artists working during a two-week period to create unique art pieces from blocks of marble. It’s the first event of its kind held in Central America. The sculptures are now part of the city’s artistic legacy and can be found along the boulevard connecting the international airport to Bulevar Liberación.

 

MUSIC:

Guatemala’s national instrument is the marimba, a huge wooden xylophone with probable African origins. You’ll often hear marimba in popular tourist regions such as A, where its cheerful notes can be heard emanating from garden courtyards housed in the city’s larger hotels.

Pre-Columbian musical instruments consisted largely of drums, wooden flutes, whistles, and bone rasps. An excellent place to check out the history and origins of Guatemala’s highland Mayan musical traditions is  Casa K'ojom just outside Antigua in Jocotenango.

It’s also not un common to hear music with Mexican influence in Guatemala, with the occasional mariachi band contracted to liven up a birthday party. Tejano and ranchera music can often be heard. You’ll also hear American rock bands here and there, sometimes on bus rides, though the sounds favored by bus drivers seem to have gotten stuck somewhere around 1984.

On the Caribbean Coast, the Garífuna population tends to favor the mesmerizing beats of punta and reggae, with variations including punta rockand reggaeton, English-Spanish rap laid over slowed-down Caribbean-style techno and reggae beats.

Grammy award–winning rock musician Ricardo Arjona is Guatemala’s best-known international recording artist. He lives in Mexico City. Spanish-language pop and rock are, of course, also widely heard throughout Guatemala.