San Pedro Artists

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Above: A group of Tz'utuhil artists wait to enter a reception for the book, Arte Naif Guatemala, published by UNESCO about Guatemala's naive Mayan artists. Nobel Peace prize winner Rigoberta Menchú and Frances president Jacques Chirac hosted the artists. [r. to l.] San Pedro artists Rafael Enrique Gonzalez M., Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay, Matias Gonzalez Chavajay, Mariano Gonzalez Chavajay, Domingo Garcia Criado and Emilio Gonzalez Morales. At left in the short white pants is Santiago Atitlan artist Miguel Chavez who stands in front of San Juan artists, the two men in modern dress, Antonio Coche and Felipe Ujpan.

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Three generations of artists stand together in front of the house of San Pedro la Laguna's first painter Rafael Gonzalez y Gonzalez [in yellow]. His grandson Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay stands on the left and his son, Pedro Rafael's uncle, stands on the right. painters, visits his grandfather Rafael Gonzalez y Gonzalez, the first Tz'utuhil painter. Rafael moved from San Pedro la Laguna to Chicacao on the coastal side of the San Pedro Volcano where he lived with his wife Candida until his death in 1996. Rafael Angel is one of two sons who are painters and Pedro Rafael is the first of four grandchildren who are painters. Pedro Rafael's father moved back to San Pedro before Pedro Rafael was born.

Pedro Rafael began painting when his grandfather gave him a set of watercolors. He was the first of many Pedranos to follow in Rafael's footsteps. Pedro Rafael and his wife, Agudelina (Audi) stand outside the door to her restaurant, Café Arte, in San Pedro.

Mario Gonzalez Chavajay began painting in about 1987. He did not learn from his older brother Pedro Rafael, instead striking out on his own. Their styles of painting differ significantly. Here we see Mario [blue shirt] with his father Herlindo and his son. Herlindo was the oldest son of first Tz'utuhil Maya artist Rafael Gonzalez y Gonzalez pictured above.

Rafael Enrique Gonzalez Mendez allows me to interrupt a conversation with his father-in-law to take their photograph. Rafael is one of four grandsons of Rafael Gonzalez. He has been painting since

about 1987. Although he is highly skilled as a painter, recently he has painted less. A lagging economy due to the World Trade Center attacks and Santiago Atitlan galleries who would rather pay the new younger artists for quantity rather than quality have contributed to the situation.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez Chavajay, named for his Uncle who is an painter, is the youngest of three brothers who are artists. Jose Antonio learned from his older brother Mario. Not surprisingly his style of painting closely resembles that of Mario with distinctive differences. He has been painting since about 1998, and sells most of his paintings through the galleries of brothers Salvador and Jose Reanda in Santiago Atitlán.

Brothers Mariano [r.] and Matias Gonzalez Chavajay, and their cousin Rafael Enrique Gonzalez Mendez stand beside Mariano's most important painting dealing with the capture of the members of the Death Squad which operated in San Pedro la Laguna in the first half of the 1980's. Mariano and Matias along with Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay are San Pedro's most famous painters.

Emilio Gonzalez Morales is the most well known of three brothers who paint. He is photographed here with Nobel Peace prize winner Rigoberta Menchú and with the first Mayan woman representive in Guatemala's congress.

Emilio's older brother Juan Fermin Gonzalez had an inspiration, possibly as a result of being a helicopter pilot during his service in the military, to paint scenes from the point of view of a bird looking straight down upon them. A painting by San Pedro artist Abraham Batzin adopting Juan Fermin's idea won first place in Guatemala's most important art competition, the Paiz Biennial.

Lorenzo Gonzalez Morales is the youngest of the three brothers, and prefers painting with watercolor and goaches than oil paints.

Photo/foto: Chema Cox and Family/ y familia.

Chema Cox and his wife are both schoolteachers. Chema's specialty is watercolors. Chema began as a "primitivist", but began to be interested in more traditional styles of painting. He soon began to specialize in watercolors. He and a young nephew paint contemporary Mayan subjects. He traveled to Spain for an exhibition of his paintings in November of 1995.

When I met Domingo Garcia in 1988 there were only a handful of painters in San Pedro. Domingo had not been painting for several years, but the few paintings he still had made me insist that he continue. I bought him the brushes he needed, and he has earned his living painting ever since. A few years later he returned the favor giving me one of his best early paintings. While clearly painting in the Tz'utuhil style Domingo has quietly forged his own path. Unlike the majority of other artists who set their paintings in the tourist towns of Santiago Atitlán and Chichicastenago, Domingo almost always uses the traje of San Pedro.

Abraham, Edgar and Felipe Batzim are three brothers who took up painting. Abraham lives in Quetzaltenango where he is a teacher. His paintings have won national prizes in Guatemala. Felipe has been concentrating on faces for the past few years, doing small portraits. His paintings now have some of the most beautiful faces of any of the Tz'utuhil painters

Photo/foto: Lorenzo Gonzalez Chavajay at home/a casa

Lorenzo Gonzalez Chavajay with one of his daughters, and a young nephew who he was teaching to paint. Lorenzo finished just one more painting after this photo was taken before he died. His style of painting was the most naive of any of the painters, but at the same time he has the most affinity for modern design. Lorenzo touches many people deeply because his paintings simply express the varied experiences of his life.

Miguel Sunu appreticed himself to Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay. His figures resemble those of his teacher, but his colors are distinctively his own. Like Pedro Rafael he paints very slowly focusing on quality, but like a number of young artists he is finishing his education so he won't necessarily need to be dependent on painting as his primary source of income.

Domingo "Jonatan" Perez introduced me to Victor Vasquez Temo of San Juan. The energy of Victor's drawings astounded me, and with the help of Vicente Cumes Pop we set Victor up to paint on his own unhindered by the conventions of the other local painters. I always return the favor to Jonatan by bringing him colors of paint unavailable in Guatemala. Here Jonaton is shown outside his adobe house with his father. One of the few remaining cane structures can be seen to the left rear. They are still common in other Mayan towns and villages, but in San Pedro they have been replaced concrete block structures.

Juan Gonzalez Chavajay with his father in their Garden. Juan has one of the few gardens in the center of San Pedro which still open to the street. He keeps it filled with beautiful and exotic flowers. Juan's older brother, a poet, inspired him to become a painter. Juan's brother was killed by the death squads, probably because of his outspoken pacifist views.

In 1988 Antonio took up painting to occupy his mind after his oldest son was killed by a car while crossing a street in Guatemala City. Painted more as therapy to get his mind off his son his first paintings were perhaps his most original. The market dictated that if he wanted to make

money he should paint quickly. He complied but decided to use bright colors. Antonio now paints mainly for the galleries in Santiago Atitlán and although he paints occasional large works he mainly produces hundreds of small paintings for tourists. Below Antonio Chavajay Yojcom works on a painting while his young son watches.

Pascual Pur Gonzalez took up painting after his younger brother Jose Antonio Pur Gonzalez learned to paint by apprenticing himself to Mariano Gonzalez Chavajay.

Diego Puzul tends his father's art gallery in San Pedro la Laguna. They have recently built a new larger one with plently of light.

Bartolo Quiacain Cruz, a promising young painter, studied with Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay for more than a year. He then began working on his own but failed to make money enough money to justify his working full time on it. He gave up painting when his father started a bus service between San Pedro and Guatemala City.

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[ Photographers portray Guatemala ] [ San Pedro Artists ] [ San Juan Artists ] [ Atitlán Artists ] [ San Pedro 1941 ] [ Frank Mays ] [ Semana Santa ] [ Maya People ] [ Lake Atitlán ] [ Structures ]

To contact us write: Arte Maya Tz'utuhil, P.O. Box 40391, San Francisco, CA 94140. Telephone: (415) 282-7654. Email me at