Rafael Varela painted this famous painting of Saint Oscar Romero and is titled "Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero, Spiritual Guide of the Nation".
It was commissioned and unveiled in 2010 during an event where the government formally apologized for the bishop's murder.
This giant painting of Saint Óscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador who was assassinated in 1980, is prominently displayed in El Salvador's presidential house.
Photos confirm its presence as recently as January 2025.
Rafael Varela
Recognized as one of the master realists of Latin America, Varela has celebrated solo exhibitions in Costa Rica, El Salvador and the United States. Additionally, he has participated in collective group shows in Central America, the Dominican Republic, the United States and Spain. His work forms part of several important public collections such as the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach), the Vatican (Rome), the White House Collection in Washington D.C as well as private collections in Central America, the United States, Europe and Japan.
Original Paintings and Fine Art Prints
Mural "Tribute to Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero," by Santa Ana painter Rafael Varela Dubón, located at the San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport in El Salvador. The work was declared a "cultural asset of artistic interest" in 2012 by a resolution of the former Secretariat of Culture (now the Ministry of Culture) of El Salvador.
A recent decision by officials in El Salvador to remove a painting of Saint Óscar Romero from a prominent location in the nation’s main airport and move it to a more secluded area, generated backlash from Catholics and opinion leaders, who have been critical of how the nation’s government is treating national symbols while trying to rebrand the country as a safe and tourist-friendly destination.
The 18-foot-wide painting depicts different scenes of Saint Romero’s life, including a meeting that Romero had with people whose relatives had been abducted by the military.
The painting was commissioned in 2010 to mark the 30th anniversary of Saint Romero’s murder and it had been placed in a hallway of San Salvador’s airport’s departure hall, where it could be easily seen by passengers as they headed to their gates. It was passengers at the airport who noted that the painting was no longer at its original location and had been replaced with a large poster that welcomes tourists to El Salvador, “the land of surfing, volcanoes and coffee.”
Over 4.5 million passengers visit the airport annually.
Acrylic on canvas, measuring 2.00 x 6.00 meters.