PITAYAS (STENOCEREUS SPP.) AND PITAHAYAS (HYLOCEREUS UNDATUS) IN ART, HISTORY AND LITERATURE

A. Rodríguez Canto
Plant genetic resources have been studied to be preserved, improved and researched about their new uses. However, pitayas (Stenocereus spp.) and pitahayas (Hylocereus undatus), two American cacti, have been addressed from other perspectives: the artistic, historical and literary. Historical references of these cacti were found in Chronicles from conquistadors, historians and priests who came to America. They include the outstanding Chronicles of Pedro Mártir de Anglería (1494), Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and Valdés (1535), Diego de Landa (1560), Tomás López Medel (1565) and Juan López de Melgarejo (1582). Pitahayas have been a source of inspiration of at least 140 artists from 31 countries; pitayas have been captured by at least 65 artists from 13 countries. Visual expressions include painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and digital art. Such renowned artists include: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José María Velasco, Olga Costa, Amelia Peláez and Roberto Ossaye. The oldest works of art are those of Chavín (500 BC), Olmec (900-500 BC) and Mexica cultures (1250-1500), as well as two drawings from 1535, the murals of an Augustinian convent painted in 1540 and an illustration of an Aztec Codex from 1552. There were found 9 stories and 24 poems devoted to pitayas and pitahayas. Two Nobel laureates of literature, the Chilean Gabriela Mistral and the Guatemalan Miguel Ángel Asturias were inspired by these cacti plants. The results have been published in three art books: Las pitahayas en las artes plásticas (2011), Las pitayas en las artes plásticas, la historia y la literatura (2012) and Las pitahayas en las artes plásticas, la historia y la literatura (2013). The three perspectives of study explored are rewarding and do contribute to better assess these two tropical cacti. These perspectives can be extended to all plant genetic resources existing in the world.
Rodríguez Canto, A. (2015). PITAYAS (STENOCEREUS SPP.) AND PITAHAYAS (HYLOCEREUS UNDATUS) IN ART, HISTORY AND LITERATURE. Acta Hortic. 1067, 335-341
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1067.46
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1067.46
plant genetic resources, cacti, visual arts, chronicles, poems, narrations
English

Acta Horticulturae