Luis Germán Cajiga is Puerto Rican

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

known for his

screen printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke ...

depicting Puerto Rico's natural landscape, its creole culture, and religious motifs. He was born in 1934, in the municipality of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, and his studio is currently based in the

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

Early life

Cajiga was born on August 21, 1934 in barrio Cacao in Quebradillas,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. When he was a young man he moved to

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, where he studied graphic art. In 1955 he became a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

. While in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

he served in the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, as a

medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

. In 1975 he got a master of arts degree in counseling and guidance at

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...

Art work

Early work

He began his artistic education in the studio of the “División de Educación de la Comunidad en San Juan” (San Juan's Community Education Division). There, under the tutelage of Fran Cervoni, Cajiga furthered his interest for Old San Juan, a subject that to this day permeates his art. Cajiga dedicated a great deal of his time on serigraphic work (silk-screening). During the early years, he prepared and printed the works of Homar and Tufiño. These in return provided him with support and instruction. He continued to perfect the technique, which remains a significant part of his current work. His first two oil paintings may be found in the palace of Santa Catalina and at the

Museo de Arte de Ponce Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) is an art museum located on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Ven al Sur, page 20. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2003. It houses a collection of Art of Eur ...

. "Calle Mercado" one of the two aforementioned oils was acquired by Governor

Luis A. Ferré Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo (February 17, 1904 October 21, 2003) was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. He was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973. He was the founder of the ...

. Among his exhibiting venues in Puerto Rico are:

Ateneo Puertorriqueño The Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Athenaeum) is a cultural institution in Puerto Rico. Founded on April 30, 1876, it has been called Puerto Rico's oldest cultural institution, however, it is actually its third oldest overall and second c ...

Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña The ''Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña'' (), or ICP for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse ...

(Institute of Puerto Rican Culture), Museo de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico,

Universidad Interamericana Universidad Interamericana (UNICA) is a university in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North A ...

, various educational and cultural centers in the island, and commercial galleries. Many of his paintings, especially posters, were printed by the artist from

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico Adjuntas () is a small mountainside town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, north of Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Ya ...

Don Samuel Maldonado Plaza in the 1980s. The printing was done in the silkscreen shop of Don Gildo Rivera Santiago in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

. Doris M. Vázquez, from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute considered him one of the most “outstanding artists of the fifties”. As a witness to that we find his artwork in the following collections: *Museum of History, Anthropology, and Art, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus,

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

*The Governor's Mansion: La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico *Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico *Museo de Arte de Ponce,

*Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico *Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Later work

He produced a poster for the United States Hispanic Heritage Month in 1997, and a mural in New York for the Heineken Mural Art Series in 2002.

Poetry and other writings

Cajiga has published five poetry books as well as novels and short stories. Of notable mention is the book “Génesis: Décimas” a poetic transcription of the Book of Genesis published by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. He has also published various works of a religious nature as well as vegetarian recipe books. He hasn't died yet. Cajiga has been featured in various publications. *Catalogues: **Babín, María Teresa. Programa de la Cultura Puertorriqueña. **"Fuego Divino", Libro de Poemas Ilustrados. **"Pintores Puertorriqueños Contemporáneos", San Juan, Puerto Rico. **"Portafolio", Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1958. **"Pintores Puertorriqueños", Portafolio Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico *Magazines/Journals: **Boletín Academia de Artes y Ciencia, núm. 2,Tomo IV, 1969. *Newspaper Articles: **Periódico El Mundo, Suplemento Dominical, (San Juan, PR), 11 de julio de 1971. **Periódico El Nuevo Día, (San Juan, PR), 28 de agosto de 1976. **Periódico El Mundo, (San Juan, PR), 27 de marzo de 1974. **Periódico El Mundo,(San Juan, PR), 26 de septiembre de 1976. **Periódico El Mundo, (San Juan, PR), 18 de enero de 1976. **Periódico La Hora, 27 de septiembre de 1973. The San Juan Star, (San Juan, PR), 19 de enero de 1975. *Periódico El Mundo, (San Juan, PR), 4 de octubre de 1973. *Periódico El Mundo, (San Juan, PR), 14 de enero de 1975.

Awards, decorations, and recognitions

*1957- Puerto Rico Fire Department Contest - 2nd Place *1965- IBEC, Caguas, Puerto Rico - 1st Place *1969- San Juan Town Hall Contest - 2nd Place *1972- Sterling House, Christmas Plate Design Contest *High Council of Art- Agüeybana de Oro *Libre Empresa Award *Support from UNESCO-Puerto Rico has brought his artwork to Latin America and the European Union.

Death

Luis Germán Cajiga died on June 28, 2025 at age 90.https://eladoquintimes.com/2025/06/28/fallece-el-reconocido-artista-plastico-luis-german-cajiga-icono-del-arte-puertorriqueno/#google_vignette

References

External links

''Estudio Cajiga''Chat with beloved Puerto Rican painter
(Spanish)
‘‘Publications by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture''
* ttp://www.flmm.org/casa.htm ''Cajiga at Fundacion Luis Muñoz Marín''br>''Cajiga paints the Coat of Arms of his hometown, Quebradillas''''Cajiga the first lithographer on tin in Puerto Rico''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cajiga, Luis German 1934 births 2025 deaths Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni People from Quebradillas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican painters Puerto Rican Seventh-day Adventists Converts to Adventism