INDIVIDUAL

Carlos Santiago Arroyo

Identifier
NFAI.E.00009409
Preferred Name
Carlos Santiago Arroyo
Biography/History

I was introduced to “santos de palo”  (wooden santos) in my grandmother’s bedroom in the town of Orocovis in the 1950’s where she had them displayed on her bureau.  I didn’t realize how much these icons would impact my life until I met a pivotal person in my life: Father Felipe López Guillama, who had returned to the country as an ordained priest after 11 years of ecclesiastical studies at the Vatican.  He had a wonderful collection of early santos in his residence.  “Pipe” shared with me his knowledge about these carvings.  Fascinated, I began to buy books and a few santos available at the time and found several relevant articles printed in newspapers.  I, also, bought a few carvings when I went at night to rural homes with Pipe.  He assisted me in getting old carvings I could afford with my lunch money for college. I continued to study the santos folk art for decades after I immigrated to this country in 1971 to become a teacher for Latino students in Boston.  In one of my visits to my country in August of 1998, I went with a dear friend to the Center of Popular Arts in Old San Juan to see an exhibition of  santos carved by students. That afternoon I bought my tools and two days later I started a carving class with the master carver, Héctor Alvares Paredes at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.  I have been carving ever since . I have grown in my carving skills thanks to the influence of master carvers including Carmen Rodríguez, Luis Raúl Nieves Román, Félix Martínez Barbosa, and José Luis Peña Burgos. I carve with these and other artisans whenever I visit Puerto Rico.

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