Edgar Calel

Guatemalan artist Edgar Calel (San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, 1987) reflects on his artistic practice as an extension of ancestral and familial memory. His work emerges from the transmission of knowledge passed down through generations — knowledge that he seeks to preserve, protect, and reaffirm through art. For Calel, creation is not only a means of expression, but also a way of safeguarding forms of knowledge rooted in territory, language, and community.

In this interview, he reflects on Guatemala’s linguistic richness, the importance of sound and landscape in shaping thought, and the value of collective work with his family. His works, which incorporate embroidery, symbols, and references such as the jaguar and Indigenous languages, function as both a protective cloak and a constellation of knowledge. Calel also highlights the need to open new historical dialogues — particularly between Guatemala and Spain — that allow for the repair of the past without remaining trapped within it. His artistic practice thus emerges as an act of aesthetic resistance, cultural care, and affirmation of life.