Luis Montero, better known as Gaston or Tongas, is a unique and very special artisan for us here at La Leona Eco lodge

Gaston comes from San José and is at La Leona for almost 9 months now; during this time he has given the place a completely new look. The restaurant for example is decorated with colorful coconut fishes, sculptures of jaguars, macaws, sea horses, parrots, anteaters, frogs, turtles and even Christmas Deer’s.

His hands and mind are blessed with unlimited creativity; he has brought magic to La Leona. For making his artworks he only uses gouge, chainsaw, and other simple tools. All his pieces are made from wood and coconut shells which he finds on the beach. With his fantasy he turns these natural materials into beautiful pieces of art.

Under the patronage of the United Nations and the Embassy of Japan he was trained (here in Costa Rica) in using bamboo as a construction material; by this means he learned how to work with the largest species of grass in the world.

He was later invited to South America; where he lived in Bolivia for a few years; there he taught to prisoners how to use bamboo as a sustainable alternative. Right now we are finishing at La Leona Eco Lodge new tents at the “Monkey Camp” with the support of Gaston. All tents are made of bamboo and they look great.

Thanks Gaston your imagination and creativity has made this place look so beautiful!!

Tags: art, costa rica arts, Ecotourism, sustainable

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Ecotourism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.