Away from mobile phones and all kinds of technology, Alberto Gutiérrez, 80, has sculpted some 3,000 figures on the stones that line the farm that he lives in the mountains of central Nicaragua.
“The hermit”, as they know him, he spends his time shaping stones and enjoying the peaceful life in nature.
For several years his only human contact was with his family. But today he welcomes visitors who come to admire his creations.
The interest that his sculptures arouse in tourists has not only brought him personal satisfaction, but benefits to his family and his community.
For many years Alberto Gutiérrez was known only by his family and by the locals who saw him fleetingly in the mountains located north of the central zone of the country.
“The hermit” they also call him because he has decided to live with the company of nature, which is where there is a small wooden house inherited by his parents and where he barely reaches his bed and a couple of tools that he uses to sculpt his figures in stones. .
His work can be seen on top of the mountain of El Jalacate, in Estelí, the third largest city in Nicaragua located about 147 kilometers from the capital.
It is an area located more than a thousand meters above sea level where the work of the hermit is located, which over time has been opened up to tourists who come to see his work.
Opening to tourists has brought benefits
“He talked with the family, but he hardly spoke to outsiders, he hid from them, but he has been changing. He shows them his work, he is proud of it”, he tells VOA Pablo Antonio Gutiérrez, one of the five brothers of the hermit.
Pablo says that from early in the morning, amidst the noise of the birds, it is common to hear his brother sculpting on the stones in the middle of the mountain. “That’s daily,” he says.
From local to international sculptures, such as the Twin Towers in New York, demolished during a terrorist attack in 2001, are part of the hermit’s collection.
After Don Alberto’s work became known nationwide, people have begun to arrive at the place regardless of the obstacles they must face to get to where the figures can be seen.
“Working on stones and seeing all this I dreamed of when I was nine years old, but I came to do it until I was 34 years old,” the sculptor told the Voice of America. “I have in mind to make some figures of the Egyptians now. This is my gift that God has given me and it has been an international success”, she emphasizes.
IN PHOTOS | The hermit who sculpts the stones of the mountains of Nicaragua
Improvised on the El Jalacate farm, a small viewpoint has been installed where tourists visit more and more frequently.
“He started this as a hobby, but he never thought he would get recognition from the people,” says Pablo Gutiérrez, the hermit’s brother.
Art dazzles nationals and foreigners
Personalities such as the United States Ambassador to Managua, Kevin Sullivan, who at the time said he admired “the art” of the hermit.
Marling Gutiérrez, the sculptor’s niece, mentions that people from a total of 45 nationalities have visited the place. She also highlights that since 2017 the number of Nicaraguan visitors has increased considerably.
“He shows them attentively, humbly, what he has done,” says Marling, who writes down the tourists’ visits in a small book.
And directly and indirectly, the sculptor’s work has generated new economic income for the family, who as symbolic help accompany visitors to enter the highest part of the mountain, which is where the sculptures are located.
Small local businessmen also point out that they have benefited from the tourism that comes to the farm.
“This place is the most visited in the area due to the culture it represents. It is a work of art in the hands of a person who has never been to a school, who has never left the city, and discovering this has been wonderful, and for us residents as well because it attracts tourism”, emphasizes Mario Cerrato, owner of a small restaurant in the area.
The sculptor’s family comments that they welcome all people “regardless of political color.”
The creator of the work shows his work briefly, but then resumes his routine of living apart from the rest of the people.
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