When we visited Ometepe in 2007, I wanted to talk with artists to see what the changes they might see in national support for the arts since the election of late 2006, in which the Sandinista party came back into power. We were able to visit with Carlos Vargas Lopez and his wife Rufina Juarez at their delightful gallery and home in Esquipulas on the double islands of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua.
Carlos Vargas Lopez was born in 1949, and recently retired from an active career in the arts as a painter. He and his wife are natives of
Ometepe and wanted to return there when they retired. Sr. Vargas lived in Managua for 42 years and had a large studio. Now, as he and his wife get settled in Esquipulas, he laughed as he showed me his tiny corner next to the kitchen where he now paints!
But they have great dreams and expectations and want to build a new structure next to their current building in which to house studios for artists (including himself), plus a museum where he can exhibit the many pre-Colombian artifacts that they own.
In response to my questions, Sr. Vargas suggested a number of ways that the current Nicaraguan administration could help artists. Beyond providing higher quality supplies to artists at reasonable prices, he suggested that there be a program to offer bank loans for gallery owners as part of the tourism expansion initiative. In general, his ideas hinged on increasing tourist trade, suggesting that Intur, the Nicaraguan tourism support ministry, bring more visitors to Ometepe and Nicaragua in general.
In Nicaragua, politics and the arts have always had a close connection. Sr. Vargas was a part of the Praxis movement in Nicaragua, which was initiated in 1978 and sought to define a unique national artistic identity for Nicaraguan artists. He believes that art and politics need to be united and work as one, and reminisced of the tremendous support the arts received during the 1980's, when the Sandinistas inaugurated arts schools across the nation -- in Managua, Ometepe, Solentiname, Masaya, Monimbo and other cities.
The painting above, and in detail to the left by Sr. Vargas, expresses the pride he feels in his country, Nicaragua. The triangle represents Nicaragua, surrounded on all sides by water, with Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua in the lower section, Zapatera Island and Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua, and a Catholic cathedral central to the picture. The many images of the natural beauty of Nicaragua dominate the rest of the painting.
One of the last things we talked about was who he thought would be important artists of the next generation -- he was optimistic that many great Nicaraguan artists are yet to be, and suggested three to watch over the next few years!
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