Latin American Folk Art

Latin American folk art includes those expressions or works of art that are specific to the inhabitants of Latin America, which are produced by groups that make up the people and for them, sometimes by anonymous authors. This type of art usually incorporates various values, both in the objects that are produced and in the intangible expressions of literature, song and music, where elements of customs, myths and legends are usually incorporated.

It is observed that many of the objects produced tend to have functionality, and in their modeling, ancestral techniques are used in which, through the use of colors and textures, a conception of the world is expressed, as well as many times elements that make up the essence of the native peoples and their mestizaje. In their figures and expressions, elements of daily life and the community are captured, in their beliefs, traditions and culture.

The Brazilian curator and scholar Luciano Alves Duffrayer indicates that the nationalism that was observed during the 1920s and the impact and absorption of the European artistic avant-gardes, allowed to overcome certain academic prejudices of the 19th century and thus enable to value expressions of art that had been left aside since colonial times. At the end of the 20th century, Latin American popular art enjoyed full acceptance. Duffrayer maintains that popular art has managed to transcend the merely artisanal, incorporating its own and sometimes primitive vision of nature, men and their magical-religious imaginary; although he also warns about the threats posed by the forces of the globalized market and society.
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