Paula Nicho Cumez

Paula Nicho Cumez (born January 15, 1955) is a Mayan-Guatemalan artist. Cumez is inspired by Mayan tradition and culture and focuses on expressing the context of native women’s experience in her artwork; additionally, Cumez was inspired by the Popol Vuh. Cumez is known for creating an artist community of women within the Tz’uthil Mayan artists, named "Kaqchikel Surrealist Painters.” Additionally, a short film was made about Paula Nicho Cumez’s background called Del Azul al Cielo. There are four cities which compose the Tz’utujil: (1) San Pedro de la Laguna, (2) Santiago Atitlán, (3) San Juan de la Laguna, and (4) San Juan de la Comalapa. However, the art from where Cumez’s was raised is in key ways different from the others, as this city is the only one that does not surround Lake Atitlán.

Artworks Cumez's work is attributed with surrealist artistic types, and many view her works as being reflective of art naif To see her works you can visit the following websites: 1 Arte Maya and Novica. Author and researcher Staikidis in regards to Cumez's work state, "the paintings become visual metaphorical windows into Mayan Kaqchikel female cultural worlds." Furthermore, this can be seen through artworks that carry these motifs such as, Mi Segunda Piel which is a series of two painting one made in 2002 and one made in 2004.