Pablo Zelaya Sierra

by Cesar Giron

Born on October 30, 1896 in Ojojona, Francisco Morazán. In 1916 he traveled to Costa Rica and worked as a teacher in a town in Nicoya. At the age of 20 he traveled to Madrid, during the reign of King Alfonso XIII, and studied Art at the National Academy of San Fernando. With great difficulty continues to study on his own and travels to Paris where he associated with young artists who had established a new concept called the School of Paris. According to Teresita Fortin; a student and friend of Zelaya: "he was tall, slim, good looking, highly expressive and had a melancholic appearance. “

Together they aspired to create a national school of fine arts, but they didn’t have the favor of the Government. His health deteriorated until he died on the sixth of March of 1933 due to a stroke at the San Felipe Hospital. Seven years after his death in 1940, the National School of Fine Arts was founded in Comayagüela. In 1949 the National Congress establishes the National Art Prize Pablo Zelaya Sierra by legislative decree.

In 1983 the Museum Pablo Zelaya Sierra was created in his hometown of Ojojona. In the same year it was published his book “Sketches”, where he declares his ideals and intentions when returning to his homeland after his artistic training.