By Susana Madera
Quito (EFE) – In a historic house built about 200 years ago, in the heart of Quito’s Historic Center, works Antonio Cuesta, a restorer who is called “doctor” by some of his clients because he heals relics, revives colonial images, and restores memories to pieces that seemed doomed to oblivion.
At 58 years old, Cuesta tells EFE that his passion for restoration began at home, inspired by his father, an antiquarian who collected ancient pieces.
“When they had their flaws, they gave them to us to restore,” he recalls, noting that this domestic school turned into a profession at the Equinoccial Technological University based in the capital, where he graduated as a restorer and museologist.
Popular decoration
Although he is not a professional doctor, his clients have bestowed that title upon him: “The doctor because he cured my little boy (a figure of the baby Jesus), the doctor because he cared for my little Virgin,” they say gratefully, a recognition more valuable than any diploma or medal.
Cuesta diagnoses, treats, and heals. He not only repairs objects but also revives memories, saves stories, and restores dignity to colonial treasures, becoming a guardian of the heritage memory that keeps the history of a people alive.
Surrounded by lacquer, paints, oils, protective glasses, and sheets of gold and silver leaf, among other items, including a photo of his father, Cuesta asserts that his workshop is in the historic center “because it’s part of our roots.”
“I have always liked old houses, colonial ones, with their windows, because I need ventilation for my work,” he commented.
“Patients” of all sizes
Cuesta works on artwork made of various materials, although most are wooden, primarily figures of religious art.
The smallest was a Saint Anthony, measuring 3.9 inches, which took him a month, while it took him three months to restore a four-meter-high metal sculpture of the Immaculate Virgin.
Although he has completed some works in an hour, others have taken a year. Cuesta mentions that there are pieces that have traveled to Mexico, the United States, Colombia, and Peru, carrying a piece of his soul. “It’s hard for me to let go because each piece takes a part of me with it.”
In his workshop, figures missing fingers, hands, faded, broken, or scratched await their turn to “revive,” just like a 17th-century canvas.
While a replica of the Virgin of Caspicara, one of the most emblematic sculptures of the 18th-century Quito School, created by the indigenous master Manuel Chili, known as Caspicara, awaits color.
An addiction
Father of four children (none of whom are restorers), Cuesta feels “fulfilled” with each delivered work: “It gives you satisfaction to rescue them and give them life again.”
He cannot envision himself without his art; he asserts that leaving restoration would be like having his limbs cut off. “It has always been a part of me… this is an addiction.”
He mentioned that this time of year has increased the demand for restorations, especially of religious figures, as in Ecuador, which has a predominantly Catholic population, masses are offered to the images of Jesus during Christmas time until January.
Consequently, in warehouses or on the streets of Quito’s colonial center, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, vendors of adornments of all colors and sizes abound for these figures.
Keen eye
Cuesta does not limit himself to restoration; he also creates. In his workshops in San Antonio de Ibarra (north), he produces Virgins and Christs from scratch, which he then colors in his Quito workshop to convey beauty and devotion.
Among replicas and originals, Cuesta accurately distinguishes the authentic: the pale colors, the porcelain-like texture, the colonial nuance that reveals centuries of history.
He is not a devotee of saints but is deeply spiritual. “I completely believe in God, and I allow myself to be guided by spirituality,” he affirms. EFE
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