By José Palacios y Román—

“Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking,” wrote Antonio Machado in Campos de Castilla. The verse reminds us that uncertainty is part of being alive, part of creating your own way. That idea hits home when I think about painting in Huatulco. Like walking, art here is shaped step by step. Painting is still a young tradition in Huatulco, but it’s already bearing fruit — sometimes in unexpected ways.

When Huatulco became a tourist destination, it drew young artists. Some stayed for a while, then moved on: Marco Antonio Contreras from Puebla, Jesús Castillo from Chiapas, and José del Signo, whose fresco still covers the entire nave of the Parish of Guadalupe.

Others like Rafael Ortega, put down roots. Beyond his studio work and public murals and sculptures, he taught drawing and painting and served for years as director of the Casa de la Cultura. Those painting classes at the Casa de la Cultura planted seeds. Some students discovered a calling. Others, like Edna Guzmán, built professional careers. Abdías García became the first from the municipality to study fine arts, winning a scholarship to the Benito Juárez University of Oaxaca. Aranza León recently graduated from the same school. Also worth mentioning: Eusebio Villalobos, a painter and muralist from Pochutla, and Heriberto Palafox, with his distinguished regional career.

As Bahías de Huatulco grew, so did its art scene. Master artist Rafael Ortega opened his workshop. Tania Guzmán and the Huatulco Art Gallery joined the mix. In Tangolunda, Copalli Art Gallery — run by Liliana Gómez Martínez and cultural promoter José Palacios y Román — focuses on discovering and promoting local artists from Santa María Huatulco.

There’s also the annual REMAX exhibition, launched by Jim and Mary Spicka with support from Bernard Healy (Kino) to showcase local and Oaxacan talent. Colectivo Tilcuate hosts occasional shows plus their yearly event, Oaxaquia.

Copalli Art Gallery has become a launchpad for emerging artists. Young talents like Aranza León, Javi Vasher, Hergón, and Abi Guzmán all held their first exhibitions there, introducing themselves to the community.

That same synergy sparked “La Magia del Color” — The Magic of Color — a collective of women artists. Twelve of them recently debuted at Copalli Art Gallery, following a moving exhibition of children and adults from the Casa de la Cultura. This is just a glimpse of how painting is taking center stage in Huatulco, right as the town itself steps into new growth.

The movement keeps going with workshops and courses, like the one this August with international artist Monse Pla — Martha Terceño from Catalonia — plus a major retrospective of her work.