Gilmar Beltrán Ponce: Peruvian artist preserves culture through clay
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Gilmar Beltrán Ponce, a 61-year-old artist from Quilca, Junín, Peru, shapes clay into art to strengthen Peruvian identity and culture.
He began working with clay at age seven, learning from elders in the Laraos district of Lima, and recreating local animals like condors and llamas. Beltrán Ponce now shares his skills through the Taller de Arte Escuela Beltrán, teaching classes in Lima and traveling throughout Peru at the request of mining companies and NGOs.
He aims to pass on this traditional art form to younger generations, believing it is a duty to continue the legacy of ancestral Peruvian pottery. Beltrán Ponce has already trained people who are now exporting their own clay pieces nationally. The newspaper El Comercio and the Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) jointly run “Peruanos que Suman,” a social campaign that identifies and celebrates Peruvians whose work positively impacts their communities.
As of August 2026, the initiative is in its third year, traveling across different regions of the country.
