Rina Lazo: The Guatemalan master who captivated Mexico and Diego Rivera
Born in 1923, Rina Lazo left her Guatemalan homeland for Mexico City in the 1940s and became heavily involved in the muralist movement.
After her apprenticeship with the likes of fellow Guatemalan Julio Rurruela, she developed close relationships with artists of the caliber of Carlos Orozco, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, and the man who would become her main influence and lifetime friend, Diego Rivera.
Through her work with Rivera and involvement in the Mexican Communist Party, she became close with Frida Kahlo, though the two never collaborated artistically.
Lazo collaborated on one of Rivera’s most famous works, the mural “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central,” which was commissioned by the famous modernist architect Carlos Obregón Santacilia.
Diego Rivera was never shy about expressing his admiration for Lazo, and even though both were married, their love affair was an open secret.
By the time Rivera died in 1957, Lazo had outgrown her role as a pupil and was recognized as a master in her own right.
After Rivera’s passing, Lazo continued to grow her reputation with works like “El agua, origen de la vida sobre la tierra” (1951) and “La Universidad, la familia y el deporte en México” (1952) within Mexico’s Olympic stadium.
In the late 1950s, Lazo returned to Guatemala to create murals like “Tierra fértil” (1954), an homage to Maya culture based on the ancient city of Tikal, and one of her most celebrated works, “Venceremos” (1959).
After her success in Guatemala, Lazo was commissioned to recreate the famous Maya murals of Bonampak in Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology. This would become her most celebrated work and further cement her legacy in the pantheon of great Latin American muralists.
Bonampak’s murals and Lazo’s reproductions are divided into three chambers with corbel arches. They depict scenes related to specific rituals and historical events.
The first room showcases a procession of musicians and dancers, including figures adorned with elaborate headdresses and jewelry. The second room portrays a war scene, with warriors engaged in combat and prisoners being captured. The third room depicts a banquet, with the ruler and his court enjoying feasting and entertainment.
Lazo’s meticulous reproduction of Bonampak’s floor-to-ceiling murals brought these stunning works to a wider audience, allowing them to be appreciated and studied in detail — especially since Bonampak was so difficult to travel to at the time.
Her paintings, which are less well-known, have been shown in galleries and museums worldwide.
In 2004, Lazo was awarded Guatemala’s highest honor, the Order of the Quetzal, established in 1936 to recognize the work of exceptional individuals in the arts, science, and service to the nation. Lazo passed away in 2019 at 96 in her Coyoacán home in Mexico City.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
