The Life Of La Vida De Llort Gibbs Smith

About the Book

Fernando Llort is a major point of reference for the art and iconography of El Salvador. Llort escaped the political instability of his capital in favor of the peaceful mountains of La Palma, a small town in the northern region of El Salvador. Here, Llort would awaken an artisan movement out of the agricultural workers, educating them on how to make a living using their artistic skills. His teachings led the commune to sow the beginnings of the local handicraft movement, inspired by the Semilla de Dios, or Seed of God. The agricultural faction of the town quickly turned into an artisanal atmosphere, fueling employment outside of field work. Llort moved back to the capital, but not without staying in contact with the people of La Palma and showing the rest of El Salvador that making a living using art was possible.

Book Synopsis

Introduce your little ones to Fernando Llort, a world-renowned artist from El Salvador!

Commended Title, 2023 Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs)

Fernando Llort is a major point of reference for the art and iconography of El Salvador.

Llort escaped the political instability of his capital in favor of the peaceful mountains of La Palma, a small town in the northern region of El Salvador. Here, Llort would awaken an artisan movement out of the agricultural workers, educating them on how to make a living using their artistic skills. His teachings led the commune to sow the beginnings of the local handicraft movement, inspired by the Semilla de Dios, or Seed of God. The agricultural faction of the town quickly turned into an artisanal atmosphere, fueling employment outside of field work. Llort moved back to the capital, but not without staying in contact with the people of La Palma and showing the rest of El Salvador that making a living using art was possible.

Parents will find this bilingual English-Spanish biography board book on Fernando Llort creative to little ones wanting to try their hand at artistry and find beauty in colors!

About the Author

Cynthia Gonzalez was born in El Salvador and raised in South Los Angeles. She’s multi-faceted with talents as an author, poet, Cultural Advisor, and Entertainment Director for the L.A. LGBT Center. Cynthia has served as an executive board member for non-profits in Los Angeles and Long Beach, has written articles for the local Long Beach press, and was featured in the L.A. Times. Her passion for seeing a positive representation of the Salvadoran community led her to establish Salvies Who Lunch, a platform dedicated to connecting and empowering Salvadorans of all backgrounds through events. Cynthia’s recent contributions include translating eight books for Lil’ Libros’ VÁMONOS series and being Associate Producer and Cultural Advisor to award-winning filmmaker Kase Peña’s upcoming new film. On her free days, she enjoys watching sci-fi movies and rocky road ice cream.

Citlali Reyes is a Mexican illustrator. Since she was a child, she always loved doodling and telling stories through images; this drew her to the enchanting world of illustration where she has resided for almost ten years. In 2014, she partnered with Lil’ Libros to create their first 3 books and over time she has illustrated more than 30 bilingual children’s books for the publisher. Now she finds herself in a new adventure of creating her first book as both author and illustrator. When she is not drawing for countless hours, Citlali enjoys reading, stargazing or playing around with her camera.