El Salvador Perspectives

Fernando Llort's famous mural on the facade of the San Salvador cathedral returned virtually at the end of this year in which the Salvadoran painter passed away .    Lovers of the mural arranged to have it projected on the plain white facade of the cathedral, still blank and featureless seven years after the archdiocese ripped the mural down . No satisfying explanation for the decision to remove the mural has ever been given.   Today the primary external adornment of the cathedral is gold colored lighting along the roof line and bell towers which can be seen at night. You can watch a Facebook video of the image-mapping of the mural to the cathedral facade here . Before After

When Fernando Llort died on August 11 at the age of 69, El Salvador lost a beloved artist, a promoter of peace, and an inspiration to many.   His paintings are in the collections of museums around the world, but Llort's designs can also be found on everything from ceramics to beach towels to wooden crafts, and his style overflows in gift shops throughout the country.   From his official website: To talk about Fernando LLort is to talk about the image of a country, an artist who is the point of reference for the iconography of El Salvador, the smallest country in America but the one who has seen one of the biggest, most amazing, cultural phenomenon of Latin America, started by a dream Fernando had when he was only 23 and he couldn't had possibly imagined what it would become. As his website describes, the iconic folk-art of El Salvador which Llort nourished had its start in La Palma, Chalatenango: Walking through the streets of La Palma, Fernando found...

I was on sabbatical from posting to El Salvador Perspectives for the last few weeks.   Here is a short summary of some of the recent news during that time.   I will be expanding on many of these stories in coming days. Tony Saca's confession to massive embezzlement and money laundering .   Former president Tony Saca has confessed to embezzling and money laundering charges involving more than $300 million in public funds during his administration.  His ongoing corruption trial has revealed a wide-ranging machine to divert funds from hidden accounts controlled by the presidency to bribe journalists, enrich Saca and friends, and fund ARENA political campaigns.  The death of Fernando Llort .   Famed Salvadoran artist Fernando Llort died on August 11 at the age of 69.   Among Llort's most famous works was the mosaic on the facade of the San Salvador cathedral, a work which was later destroyed by church authorities.  Llor...

At elsalvador.com right now they have a special section devoted to Salvadoran artist Fernando Llort .  It's a great collection of images from the artists' life and work.    Go to the site and enjoy. The image above is from the Facebook page of the Fernando Llort Foundation which is a good spot to find out what Fernando Llort is up to today.

Artist Fernando Llort is a national treasure in El Salvador, and he continues to give back to his homeland.   On Friday in San Marcos,  El Salvador, artist Fernando Llort and a group of youth began work on a mural titled "The Jewel of Hope and Peace." The project is sponsored by UNICEF, as part of its campaign "no te indigna?" / "aren't you outraged?" which is intended to raise awareness of violence afflicting children in the country. Llort's recent works in public spaces have included a renovation of the Monument Hermano Lejano ("Distant Brother") dedicated to those Salvadorans living abroad.   The renovation, concluded in 2012 includes sculptures and murals to provide a "fraternal hug" and a welcome home. He also recently completed a mural with youth volunteers in Santa Tecla as part of a Plan El Salvador program. You can see everything this prolific artist is up to at the Facebook page of the Fundación Fernando Ll...

Press conference video With a quiet dignity, Fernando Llort made his first public statement about the destruction of his mural which had adorned the facade of the Metropolitan Cathedral. He spoke of the facade as the greatest work of his life and the destruction of the mural as the greatest sadness of his life. Llort says he accepts the apology of the archbishop and respects the church and its hierarchy. But despite that, he was still left with a deep pain and many questions. He repeated that this public work belonged not to him, or to the church, but to all Salvadorans. Llort had three requests. First, he requested that the church make a full and complete explanation of its study and reasons for destroying the mural rather than restoring it. Second, he asked that there be greater recognition in El Salvador of the value and respect due for the work of Salvadoran artists and artisans. Third, he asked that the church return to him the rubble from the tiles removed from...

In his weekly press conference on Sunday, San Salvador archbishop José Escobar Alas, answered questions about the removal of the mosaic by artist Fernando Llort from the facade of the Metropolitan cathedral. Monseñor Escobar Alas stated that the cathedral was in the midst of a project to paint and clean all the exterior and interior surfaces of the cathedral. When it came time to clean the mosaic, pieces were falling off. Many pieces had been discolored and damaged by the sun and the rain. Pieces of tile which had been damaged or discolored by the weather could not simply be replaced, because the new pieces would not match the existing ones. The archbishop said that following an analysis by the engineering and architectural firm working with the church, which concluded the restoring the mosaic was not possible, the decision was made to remove it. In his remarks, the archbishop went out of his way to commend the Ferndo Llort and his family for their dedication to Salvadoran s...

I can't believe it.  In a move that came in a surprise to most in El Salvador, the Catholic church in San Salvador is removing the famous tile mural of artist Fernando Llort from the facade of the Metropolitan Cathedral .   With little fanfare, the church is destroying an important national artistic treasure. The destruction of the mural has been condemned by the Salvadoran government and by the family of Fernando Llort .   The family of Llort says the artist is deeply saddened, and that he had not been advised in advance nor given the opportunity to retire his most important artistic work in dignity.  The mural, completed in 1997, was an homage to the 1992 Peace Accords which ended El Salvador's civil war. The Catholic church has stated that parishioners had been consulted and that they were in agreement with the decision.   Images of what will replace the Llort mural on the facade of the cathedral have not been released, but press reports indicat...

In the past two days, I visited two museums in San Salvador. The first was the David Guzman National Anthrpology Museum. Once you go past the unimpressive entrance, you will find a very interesting collection of materials showing the evolution of Salvadoran culture beginning with indigenous cultures of the Mayans and other peoples. The museum is organized thematically, showing first the locations of human settlements in El Salvador, and then focusing on areas such as agriculture, religion, art, commerce and artisanship. There is a large collection of artifacts from archeological sites in the country. I recommend it to anyone visiting El Salvador. Next was the Museum of Art of El Salvador. This museum has a small permanent exhibition devoted to Salvadoran painters of the twentieth century. It provides an overview of various trends in modern Salvadoran art, but omits, somewhat surprisingly to me, the painter Fernando Llort . Photos from my visits: David Guzman National Museum of...