Luis Pertuz, lover of art with wood

Luis Pertuz, a craftsman who lives in the municipality of Galapa (Colombia), loves to carve wood and creates works worthy of awards, as has already happened on several occasions.

His love for carving was born at the age of 9, he didn’t care about the injuries he got while practicing, what he wanted was to master this art. His father had a farm and, with a laugh, he says he took a few trees to practice. Of course, he did not get rid of his father’s scolding.

It was something he had in his veins, a passion he couldn’t control, he tells exclusively Panama Americafrom his workshop in Galapa.

At the age of 16, he already handled around 26 carved figures, as well as knowledge in Finish it and color. However, I never imagined that I would have the job I have today.

This business step was promoted by his wife in 2000. Namely, he won it with 15 carved figures.

So they went to the Mario Santo Domingo Foundation where they gave him a contract and that’s how his business flourished.

Handicrafts Royal Congo He gave them handicrafts such as carnival masks (Barranquilla), they also wanted a letter opener, pencil holders or pencilsall the business gifts he had to make by hand.

In this way, Pertuz completely started the business, he went through several national and international fairs. In addition, he is the winner of several awards.

He says that he started with one associate, and in 2019 he already had about 25. However, the pandemic, like many others, affected him as well. He continued with his businessfor the hand of his daughter Luisa, who is a big supporter of him.

Louise has entrepreneurship and created a foundation that seeks to promote craft community tourismnot only to highlight the work of his father, but also the work of others craftsmen from the community of Galapa (Department of Atlántico, Colombia). In this work, he does not leave out either gastronomy places.

For this and other reasons, Galapa would be a good place for it tourism. If you go to Barranquilla (Colombia), the community is an hour away. In Barranquilla, if you haven’t chosen where to stay yet, one of the options will be the Barranquilla Marriott Hotel located in Puerto Colombia. A pleasant place and it is a point from which you can easily reach Galapa.

Why Royal Congo?

As a child, the Kongs at the carnival scared him and he gave his business this name because he decided to pay tribute a figure that kept him awake many nights.