corner, the Galeria de Heroes y Martires has another impressive revolutionary mural, created in 1985. The outer walls of the gallery carry the faces of famous Nicaraguan revolutionaries; the stencil portraits of each hero and martyr create a hologram on the façade of the museum. This mural is well preserved and maintains most of its intensity; the stencilled faces are so impressively flawless that it looks like a screen rather than a mural. The Centro de Salud Leonel Rugama is also an important site, created for long term access to health care. The building’s mural, painted in 1989 by the Boanerges Cerrato artists of Esteli, reflects the gains of the revolution in terms of improved health care. Emerging from the murals of the revolution, the Children’s Muralism Workshops of Estelí were founded in 1989. Now known as FUNARTE, these
workshops still teach children the values of an equal society, while involving them directly in public art making. Since these children have no memory of the revolution or its values, these murals teach them about the accomplishments made by the revolution, yet in a non-political form. In 2001, the artist Julio Moreno started another muralist collective in Estelí, known as the Colectivo de Muralistas. A completely self-sustainable collective, the members work from their office in the Casa de Cultura to preserve and maintain the city’s wall painting traditions. Unlike FUNARTE, the muralist collective is very political, and they are not afraid to show their FSLN pride. Many of their murals sport the faces of Leonel Rugama, Augusto Sandino, Carlos Fonseca and other important Nicaraguan revolutionaries. 2 Estelí has over 150 murals created by FUNARTE, the Colectivo de Muralistas,
and international artists who come to Estelí with brushes and buckets of acrylic paint, in search of a fresh, untouched city wall. Before the revolution of 1979, Nicaragua had no murals. Subsequent political events made it possible for artists to express themselves in public. Although few of the 3,000 revolutionary murals remain, the city of Estelí has maintained this cultural tradition. 30 years later, the artistic revolution continues and flourishes in Estelí, covering dull city walls with brilliant colours and empowering imagery. Through the work of dedicated, passionate individuals, muralism lives. C
1 FUNARTE. Historia. 2009. 15 Aug 2009 http:// www.funarte.org 2 Moreno, Julio. Personal interview. 10 Aug 2009
Sara de Jesus Loureiro, recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario, is in Esteli, Nicaragua, working with the Colectivo de Muralistas.
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