Tegucigalpa, Honduras — In 2025, Honduras declared the Year of the Arts in honor of Pablo Zelaya Sierra (1896–1933), a pioneering modernist painter considered one of the country’s most influential artists. The initiative was led by the Secretariat of State for Culture, Arts, and the Heritage of the Peoples of Honduras (SECAPPH), the government body responsible for promoting culture and strengthening the arts nationwide.
Throughout the year, SECAPPH consolidated its role as a national benchmark for artistic presentation and training. An estimated 2,193 artistic and cultural events were held across 84 municipalities, bringing the arts closer to communities throughout the country.
Through the National Dance Academy “Mercedes Agurcia Membreño,” art reached public spaces such as Tegucigalpa’s Central Park, reinforcing the idea that culture belongs to everyone.
A Year Full of Art
For the General Directorate of the Arts, 2025 represented both a challenge and an opportunity, driven by coordinated work between the government, international cooperation partners, and local cultural organizations.
This collaboration enabled the execution of high-impact events featuring some of Honduras’ most emblematic artistic groups, including:
- The Symphony Orchestra of La Victoria
- The Band of the Supreme Powers of Honduras
- The National Folkloric Dance Ensemble of Honduras
- The National Marimba “Alma de Honduras”
These performances showcased Honduran talent and celebrated the country’s rich artistic heritage.
Training, Inclusion, and Community Impact
As part of its commitment to participatory and inclusive culture, SECAPPH provided technical training to 472 artistic facilitators. With a human-rights-based approach, this new network of cultural managers is now equipped to replicate their knowledge throughout the country.
Across the national network of Houses of Culture, SECAPPH created accessible spaces for artistic education, benefiting people of all ages. This process of knowledge-sharing was supported directly by the General Directorate of Artistic Training and Education, ensuring that arts education reached the grassroots level of Honduran society.
Urban art also took center stage in 2025, promoting peaceful coexistence and engaging youth through creative expression as a pathway to a culture of peace and mutual respect.
Strengthening Creative Industries
A major institutional milestone was achieved when 400 artists from all 18 departments—representing music and visual arts—completed an intensive training program in cultural and creative industries management through the Project for the Strengthening of Cultural and Creative Industries (PICCCMAH).
This program went beyond technical assistance, culminating in the development of participatory business plans—an essential requirement for accessing seed capital to launch new artistic ventures.
Digital Innovation: Virtual Gallery and National Record Label
To connect Honduran talent with global markets, SECAPPH introduced cutting-edge digital marketing strategies, including:
- A Virtual Gallery, serving as a platform for the promotion and sale of visual art.
- A National Record Label, designed to promote and commercialize music produced in Honduras.
Together, these initiatives position the arts as a valued force for social and economic development, reaffirming culture as central to national identity. Through this vision, SECAPPH emphasizes the transformative power of art—and Honduras’s role as a cradle of the country’s creativity.
Latina Republic is a nonprofit organization dedicated to telling the stories that shape Latin America and the Caribbean. Our cultural coverage highlights heritage, arts, identity, and community-driven initiatives—from archaeology and Indigenous knowledge to contemporary cultural expression—placing culture at the center of social memory, resilience, and regional transformation.
