Valero Lecha

Valero Lecha was born in Alcorisa, Spain, on March 4, 1894. Emigrating to El Salvador in 1924 after studying decorative arts in Barcelona, Lecha was enchanted by the volcanic light, markets, and indigenous faces of Central America.

In 1937, he founded the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura Valero Lecha in San Salvador. For over thirty years, Lecha provided rigorous classical instruction while encouraging his students to portray authentic Salvadoran reality. His pupils, including Julia Díaz, Noé Canjura, and Raúl Elas Reyes, became the vanguard of modern Central American art.