PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
The ARTIST
46 Port St. Lucie Magazine
JOHN BIONDO PHOTOS
Carlo Mejia works slowly and meticulously as he creates a richly detailed oil pastel piece of art.
If you’ve enjoyed the Downtown Fort Pierce Farmers’
Market on Saturday mornings, you may have spotted
certain bright prints from afar. Reminiscent of Mayan
culture, the prints and ceramics in artist Carlo Mejia’s
corner tent would be an asset to the finest gallery or museum,
but Mejia loves the market, meeting people, explaining the
time-consuming nature of his ceramics or the symbolism of a
particular print.
What brought this talented artist to the Treasure Coast? The
answer is as complex as Mejia’s artwork.
Mejia’s ancestors were the Quiché, descendants of the
ancient Mayans. By the time his great-grandfather, originally
from Guatemala, became leader of the indigenous people
group in El Salvador, many had fled their lands to find
greater economic opportunities in the cities.
“We maintained our culture, but everything was secret,”
Mejia says. “We prayed in secret, spoke our language in
secret.”
Even as a small boy, Mejia was expected to help put food
on the table. By the age of 5, he was knocking on doors, trying
to sell little oil paintings he had done. He helped any way
he could, whether cleaning homes for a few coins, or assisting
the shamans as babies were delivered. As his stature and
skill grew, Mejia’s paintings grew in popularity, but he never
considered himself a painter.
More than 60 years later, he is comfortable with the title.
His talent opened doors of opportunity. At 12, El Salvador’s
ambassador to France said, “Do three paintings for me, Carlito.”
He took the boy to Paris, where one of the paintings won
honors in the 1959 Paris Biennale and he met Pablo Picasso. It
was the beginning of a career that has spanned his entire life,
showing his work in exhibitions, studying abroad, lecturing,
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BY ELLEN GILLETTE