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Honduran art is often divided into pre-Columbian, colonial, and post-independence periods. The current art of Honduras had several influences, including Mesoamerican pre-Columbian art, Spanish settlers, African slaves, and the arrival of Garifuna people in 1796. The art of the country has native, European, and African roots.
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Pre-Columbian art
Honduran art before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century is often divided into cultural groups according to the various indigenous groups. Two central american cultural regions had the greatest influence on the art made in Honduras:
The cultural expressions of the tribes in Mesoamerica centered around the crop of corn while the tribes in Isthmo-Colombia centered their cultural expressions around the harvesting of fruits, hunting and fishing. The Maya civilization left deep traces on the culture of Honduras, found both at archaeological sites such as Copán as well as in the traditions of indigenous groups including the Tolupan, Ch'orti', Lenca, and Tawahka peoples. These cultures developed diverse forms of artistic expression, which even today continue to adapt and change.
These tribes developed many diverse art forms, including architecture, rupestrian paintings, ceramics, sculpture, and music, in addition to diverse sciences such as biology, botany, chemistry, medicine, mathematics and astronomy. Many and diverse examples of such works can be seen in the different museums that exist across the country, highlighted at the National Gallery of Art and in the Museum of National Identity.
Colonial art
The arrival of the European colonists wrought a series of radical transformations upon the lives of the native peoples in Honduras, greatly affecting the art of the people living there. During the period of Spanish colonization, new arts and technical advances flourished in the country, and European artistic styles such as Baroque and Rococo mixed with native artistic styles to create new styles used to create many new and varied pieces of art. Many of these works can be found in the National Gallery of Art. During this period, several artists stood out including the professional painter José Miguel Gómez, in addition to painters Zepeda and Villafranca. Two colonial writers are Francisco Carrasco of Saz and Antonio of Paz and Salgado.
Painting
Painting in the area which is now Honduras existed in pre-Columbian times, which finds still in full process of discovery as it has not existed the resources and necessary wills to find these roots of the pre-Columbian culture in Honduras as they show it the recent processes of investigation of the White City in the region of the Mosquitia in the orient of the country.
With the arrival of the Europeans came diverse techniques that entered during the Spanish colonization and that underwent modifications like the hybrid effect. After the independence, these differences deepened even more by endogenous and exogenous factors, like the effect of the valid transformations.
The painters that stood out the most in Honduras are José Antonio Velásquez and Carlos Garay. Velásquez was recognized as the first primitivist painter in the Americas. It exposed his works in EE, UU, and Latin America, as well as in many countries of Europe and Asia. They highlight the period of consolidation of the State of Honduras painters like Pablo Zelaya Sierra until Arturo López Rodezno.
With a goal of enriching and teaching the future painters of Honduras, the National School of Fine Arts (Honduras) in Comayagüela was founded in 1940.
Architecture and sculpture
The architecture and sculpture from pre-Columbian times in Honduras highlighted the Mayan civilization. Several of these works can be found in the cities of Copán, El Ponte and The Naranjos, as more and more ancient structures are discovered by archaeologists. Architecture during the colonial period centered around military uses for defense, such as the Fortresses of the Castle of Saint Fernando in the bay of Omoa and the fortress of Santa Barbara in Trujillo in the department of Colón. Other architectural works included the bridges in the cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, such as the Bridge Mallol, as well as temples, such as the ancient Baroque styled "San Francisco" temple city in Tegucigalpa or the American Rococo styled "San Miguel Arcángel" Cathedral.
Cinematography
Sami Kafati is a Honduran filmmaker produced several films including the short film My Friend Ángel (1962) and the feature film No Ownerless Land (2003). Also they project Vilma Martínez and Mario López with the short films Corn, Copal and Candela, World Garífuna, José Cecilio of the Valley and Ticha Kings (1977–1980). Also Hispanic Durón, producer of the film Anita the hunter of insects (2000), Juan Carlos Fanconi, producer of the film Souls of the Midnight (2001) with Mario Jaén; and the recently produced documentary made by Manuel Farias and Vilma Martínez, based in the book of Julio Escoto and musical arrangement of Guillermo Anderson, "Morazán is in the Streets" (2009).
Theatre
European theatre productions began in Honduras in the 16th century. The first theatrical presentation in Honduras was the Devil Cojuelo, written by the Spanish dramatist and novelist Luis Vélez of Guevara. The play was acted out in 1750, out in the open, in the city of Comayagua. Very little is known about the development of the works of Fr. José Trinidad Kings Seville during this period, founder of the National University and exponent of the movement in defense of the rights of the woman.
At the end of the First World War, in the period of bonanza of the Economy of Enclave, theatre became popular again, and a need for the groups to be able to and arises the urgency of construction of theatres, like this with the Mining Enclave establishes the theatre in the city of Saint Juancito and in The Mochito of the mining company and with the Company UFCo of the Enclave Frutero that supports the diets of where will arise the traditional parties establish Theatres to entertain to the village laborante in the fields but is with the diet of the founder of the National Party that initiates the construction of the National Theatre that carries his name Manuel Bonilla Chirinos and the Avellaneda in the city of Comayagüela. At the same time it arises the need of the folk art to express in the art of the tables, a result of the pressure the villages put on the public education system, so it is in school where people first learn about theatre. Miguel Murillo Selva was a major actor in the second half of the 20th century, among others.
Dance
Honduras has more than 141 folkloric dances, divided in three cultural groups representative of its folklore: the creole dances, the autochthonous dances, and afro-caribeñas dances.
Ballet
Ballet has developed very little in Honduras. However, one notable ballet dancer is Daniel Bouquets.
Schools of ballet
Honduras has several ballet schools, among them the Ángel Dance Academy in San Pedro Sula.
In May 2014 a group of students of the Centre Sampedrano of Artistic Education, (Censea) won the medal of titanium for choreography for Can-Can during the tournament Sheer Talent in Costa Rica.
Music
Music in Honduras has developed greatly since Pre-Columbian times. The ancient Mayans already had their own musical instruments such as the aerophone and creature shaped clay whistles. After European colonists arrived in Honduras, traditional native music was combined with European music, incorporating new European instruments, creating a new style of music still seen in Honduras today.
In 1936 the Francisco R. Díaz Zelaya National Conservatoire of Music was founded. In 1984 the National Conservatoire of Music was incorporated into the public education system, which meant its graduates could be bachelors in music. Students there can learn to play a diverse selection of string instruments such as the violin, violates, cello, double bass, guitar, piano, wind instruments such as the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, natural horn, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and percussion instruments.
The list of major Honduran orchestras includes the national symphonic Orchestra, the juvenile symphonic Orchestra, the band of the supreme powers, and the national marimba "Soul of Honduras".
Culinary art
Honduras has a variety of traditional dishes, including baleada, roast beef with chimol, chicken on rice with corn , fried fish with pickled onions, and the typical Garifuna dish, which consists of fish fried in coconut oil. Other dishes include montucas, enchiladas, corn tamales, "tripe" or tripe soup. In coastal areas and in the Bay Islands, seafood is prepared in various ways and some dishes are prepared with coconut. Tourist areas have restaurants serving international cuisine and American cuisine. In addition, there is a variety of soups, desserts, corn preparations, and alcoholic beverages.
Literature
Honduran literature goes back more than one thousand years to the Maya civilization in the city of Copán. Maya writings used logogramas and glyphs syllabic, the literature Maya finds conserved in the trails, pyramids and temples in Copán. The city of Copán houses the most informative pyramid of America, the pyramid of the hieroglyphs that has more than 2,500 glyphs.
There have been several periods of Honduran literature, such as romanticism, modernism, and post modernism. The list of major Honduran authors includes: Froylán Turcios, Juan Ramón Molina, Antonio José Rivas, Clementina Suárez, Edilberto Cardona, Víctor Cáceres Lara, Ramón Amaya Amador, Marco Antonio Rosa, Roberto Sosa, Lucila Gamero of Medina, Amanda Castro, Javier Abril Espinoza, and Roberto Quezada.