In 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front appointed Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1925 in Granada; d. 2020, Managua) as Nicaragua’s Minister of Culture, following the ousting of the Somoza family. Cardenal was a poet, artist, politician, and priest known for, among many things, spreading the teachings of liberation theology, an approach to Christianity that focused on social justice and the liberation of oppressed peoples and which was particularly popular in Central America throughout the 1960s and 80s. Inspired by Cardenal’s 1964 book Salmos (The Psalms of Struggle and Liberation), Puerto Rican artist Antonio Martorell (b. 1939 in Santurce; lives in La Playa de Ponce) created the eponymous woodblock print series in 1971, interpreting Cardenal’s writing through images. The final print in the series is a letter Cardenal wrote to Martorell after he sent the print series to him, expressing gratitude and admiration for the artist’s work.
