Charlie Carrillo: Tradition & Soul
Barbe Awalt & Paul Rhetts
Reg. price $39.95 softcover
ISBN 0-9641542-0-x
LPD Press, 1995. 128 pages, 292 color, 7 b/w
photos
Awards
Selected as Top 25 Favorite Book, New Mexico Book
League, 1998
Recognizing the growing interest in Spanish
Colonial art, especially from New Mexico, this is
the first book on contemporary Hispanic arts and
Hispanic artisans. This is the first time a
contemporary santero's body of work has been
documented.
Charlie Carrillo, an award-winning santero, is
considered by many to be one of the masters of
contemporary northern New Mexico devotional art.
This book documents the major pieces that Charlie
Carrillo has produced since 1978 as well as all
of his the award-winning pieces, both retablos
(flat pictures of saints) and bultos
(three-dimensional statues). Carrillo has
received top honors in each of the past ten
Spanish Markets in Santa Fe including the E. Boyd
Memorial Award for originality and expressive
design and the Florence Dibell Bartlett Award for
innovative design from the International Folk Art
Foundation at the 1994 Market. Three of Charlie's
Spanish Market award pieces were in the "Crafting
Devotions" exhibit at the Gene Autry Western
Heritage Museum in Los Angeles. Charlie was also
the guest curator of the "Cuando Hablan Los
Santos" exhibition at the Maxwell Museum of
Anthropology in Albuquerque.
Carrillo has produced some 4,500 pieces in the
seventeen years that he has been carving saints.
The book displays over 300 of the best and most
representative pieces. Examples of Carrillo's
work have been taken from many private
collections as well as the Heard Museum, Taylor
Museum, Tamarind Institute, Museum of
International Folk Art, Albuquerque Museum,
Millicent Rogers Museum, Gene Autry Western
Heritage Museum, Denver Museum and the National
Museum of American History/Smithsonian.
REVIEWS
An important contribution to the religious
tradition of New Mexico and to santero art, it
focuses on a tradition that not only has endured
for hundreds of years but also represents a
belief system that continues to thrive among the
people of New Mexico. -- Bloomsbury Review
This is a beautiful book about a man, his life
and his art. Carrillo is a santero artist who
lives his art. Perhaps the best explanation of
what this reviewer means is to quote from the
book, What is a Santero? -- The santeros of old
New Mexico made a living creating saints for
personal and group worship. They were artisans as
well as teachers . . . Today Charlie continues
this belief system in his life, art and teaching
the stories. This book is rich in information,
lovely photographs of his work, bibliography and
resources where one will find his work in
permanent museum collections. I have known
Charlie Carrillo for many years. He truly lives
by his beliefs, art and New Mexico Hispanic
cultural values. This book is necessary for all
who have a passion for fine art, and New Mexico
history. Libraries, art schools, museums, and all
school libraries will benefit from having this
book in their collections. -- Reviewers
Consortium
A gorgeous book filled with photographs of
Carrillo's work, is a must-own for collectors. If
you haven't seen Carrillo's work, check this out
- viewing it is a religious experience in and of
itself. -- Weekly Alibi