Well, until now, this is my favorite painting work. It is based on a legend that they told me when I went to Atacama, in Chile. I will tell all this legend for you, it is very interesting and cativating. I put some general pictures first, so you can see all the guitar´s details and, after this pictures, I wrote all the legend for you. Nice trip!
I used this guitar to record my first solo album. So I made a videoclipe for one of the songs, called Hermes. This video tells the whole legend of Quimal. Here is the video for you to watch!
The Legend of Quimal
I’m going to tell you a story. Not a story; a legend. And like all legends… … It is true.
The legend of a girl called Quimal, the most beautiful in all the Licanantay empire, an ancient people who lived in the Atacama Desert centuries ago.
And also about Licancabur… and his brother, Urique, both sons of “Fire Tongue” Laskar, ruler of the empire.
Quimal
Licancabur
Urique
Laskar
These four characters… Or should I say these four say entities… Are also represented by volcanoes… These volcanoes lived together… Side by side. Each one had an unique symbol above their head. Laskar, the father, had two diamonds. His sons, Licancabur and Urique, had one diamond each one. And Quimal had two circles above her head.
Licancabur, the older brother, also known as “The People’s Mountain”, was in love with Quimal. And she was in love with him. However, Urique also wanted her. But as I said, Quimal’s gaze was set upon Licancabur.
Until, with a dagger in hand, overcome with envy and rage, Urique tried to force his way with Quimal. But Licancabur came in at that very moment and saw everything…
… And with a single swing from his sword, he cut off Urique’s head, decapitating his worthless brother. And that is why, in an ancient tongue, Urique means “Beheaded”.
Quimal was the victim… but King Laskar, unhappy at the sight of his sons killing each other over a woman, proffered his unfairest sentence… and blamed the girl. He blamed Quimal for the murder and exiled her from the empire, banishing her to across the salt desert. Away from all… away from Licancabur.
Thus, this is how they are today…
Urique is a small mountain, fallen to the ground, headless (even his symbol, now, is a half diamond).
Beside him is his older brother, the great Licancabur, an imposing volcano, visible by all from any corner of the Atacama.
Laskar, the father and unfair king, stands at the back, ashamed.
As for Quimal… Well, Quimal remains in exile, abandoned and on her own across the salt desert.
A sad tale, no? But as I said before… This is no story. This is a legend.
All ancient gods, from the highest to the lowest, from the strongest to the weakest, from the most remembered to the most forgotten, from the kindest to the cruelest… all of them granted Quimal and Licancabur a second chance. A new and deserved opportunity.
Once a year, in the winter solstice… On the 21st of June… The Sun, greatest of all stars in our sky, grants its highest of graces… and, in a gesture of humility worthy of the most wise… bows to the ground, low enough so that Licancabur’s shadow crosses the salt desert… and reaches Quimal… So they can meet again, once a year.
This brief meeting makes the long wait worth it. Always. A single and so very anticipated meeting, year after year.
And thanks to this magical meeting, Moon and Sun… Night and Day… Female and Male… can be one again. Eternally. Always. Year after year.
As you can see in this figures, moon and sun are a single entity. Female and Male together.
Moon and Sun.
These are the ancient gods from Atacama. And, in the jack, lies the Sun, greatest star in the sky.
In the neck of the guitar lies the four minor gods from Atacama. In the back of the guitar body I painted the Atacama´ sky. This huge mandala represents a fusion of the three major Gods of Atacama: Moon, Sun and Star. In fact, I took some months to paint just this mandala (I will explain this process in a picture below).
So, this is it. I really loved this legend when they told me when I visit Atacama some years ago, so I decided to paint int in my guitar. Until now, this is my favorite painting work. What do you think about it?
This is me in the Atacama´s desert. In the back, you can see two vulcans. They are Licancabur and Urique.
This is me playing with Quimal in a concert with my band, Gypsy Tears. She really got an unique sound! I use pickups from Amazônica Art Guitars, handmaded by a brazilian luthier called Samuel Lima, my partner in Amazônica.
At last, I´d like to talk about this mandala. Probably the most dificult part of all painting. As every part of the whole painting, i did this mandala directely over the guitar´s body, using some really small brushes and pens.
This mandala represents the fusion of the three major gods of Atacama: Moon, Sun and Star, making a kind of “perfect being”.
Well, after I finished this mandala painting, I photographed it, digitalized and it became the logotype of my band, Gypsy Tears. So now you can see this mandala in our souvenirs, such as shirts, beers, caps, bottons and everything else related to the band!
Did you like Quimal? So make contact, for ordering or more informations:
atelier thiago valle 
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