Los Calladitos: Quiet Giants of Light

"They may look like gods at first, but for us, they are normal people - people so passionate about what they do that at some point they started to grow. That's also why we draw their eyes white. Inside, they are full of light," explains Ari. And they carry a message: "Don't wait for someone greater than you to change things. Anyone can be a giant - and transform their community from within."

For over ten years, the Calladitos have been pursuing their shared dream, working day in and day out to make their artistic visions real. In doing so, they place not themselves but their art at the center: "We call ourselves 'calladitos' - the quiet ones - because we believe our work speaks louder than words," Ari says. "We let it express itself. If people connect with it, they'll want to see more."

And people do. With vivid colors, basic shapes and recurring characters, their visual language is as simple as it is universal, drawing in children and adults alike. Over the years, their work has carried the couple far beyond San Miguel - from the heart of Mexico to the streets of Europe, the United States, and Colombia.

Who has not felt it - that pull toward something you want to be, but are not quite yet?

Most of the things we really want in life require hard work. The temptation to give up along the way is real, because, let’s be honest, who enjoys the “not there yet”, with everything that comes with it: the mistakes; the setbacks; the picking yourself back up and carrying on. But then there are the other moments. The ones where you notice something has shifted. Today feels a little easier than yesterday. Tomorrow, perhaps, you will be one step further. It is in those moments that you realize: even if the path is hard, it feels right - and that feeling is worth following.

Ariadna Galaz and Jorge Peralta from the artist duo Los Calladitos know that pull well. For years, the couple, who go by Ari and Chiki, worked against the noise - distractions, expectations - to do what they had always wanted: create; build characters; tell stories; and carry their messages into the world.

Walking through San Miguel with open eyes, you will find their art in many places: powerful scenes of hope, a space for dreams, painted onto walls in vivid color. Their main characters are giants glowing from within. At first glance they seem superhuman - like the figure that greets you, shimmering in warm yellows on a deep blue surface, as you leave the bus terminal heading toward the city center. You might think the mural shows a deity holding his protective hands over a small human on earth. But that is not it.

The partnership between Ari and Chiki is built on a particular kind of balance - one that has developed over years of shared walls, a joint studio in San Miguel, and a creative universe they have made their own. "I think we have two distinct inner worlds that intertwine in the same dreamlike one," Ari reflects. Often, their most important conversations happen not in words, but directly on the wall. "I may use very intense, bright colors, and Chiki puts in more calming ones. In the end, if the colors clash, we blend them and reach a middle point. That would be the middle ground of the conversation," she says.

After more than a decade on walls, that same conversation is now finding a new surface. For the past three years, Ari and Chiki have been working on a series of animation projects, backed by a team of forty people. Their dream is to see their characters move, and to present their colorful universe on the big screens of international film festivals - in Mexico, the US, Europe.

The first milestone, a short film named PUC PUC, is set to be completed this June. At its center is Puc - an extroverted, curious, boundlessly energetic child, who, at first, has little interest in the world around him. That changes when the mushrooms on his island begin to detach from the earth and a question arises: what if nature stopped giving us what we need? And Puc takes on the mission to restore the balance in his ecosystem. "In our universe, plants are never just the setting. They are a character in the story," Ari explains. That equilibrium between humans and the environment was always an integral theme of their art - long before they had put it into words. Looking back at their murals, they recognized that their giants were often guardians of nature and their smaller figures were always interwoven into the diversity around them. “We hadn't perceived it so consciously,” Ari reflects, “until we sat down to write the stories and realized we were almost always talking about that."

As their characters grow, so do the artists themselves - in ways they did not entirely plan for. The larger team has enabled each of them to follow what pulls them most. For Ari, it turned out to be writing. "I enjoy diving into the emotions of a character - understanding who they are, where they live, who they interact with. If they listened to music, what would it be?" Chiki, meanwhile, has gone deeper into the visual world - the surreal landscapes, the spaces their characters inhabit.

Their creative universe also shows the couple where they themselves still have room to grow. The giantess Bolla, for instance, is a character Ari is still trying to fully understand: "I feel I am embedding a lot of my current personality," she says, "but I haven't yet become that character. That's why I still can't fully decipher the script. Maybe I haven't yet experienced the things I want her to have experienced."

In moments like these, it helps her to return to the quiet. "I think you need that moment of silence - that introspection - to really know who you are. For me, it's an internal world that asks you to create."

Connecting with that inner voice is not easy. But for those who manage, it can feel a little like stepping into the world of the giants: as though suddenly a little more light is breaking through - you stand a little taller, walk a little more freely - knowing that the path you are on is truly your own.

Editor's Note: 

A teaser for PUC PUC is already out — and offers a first glimpse into the world Ari and Chiki have spent years building. Watch the PUC PUC teaser here.

For those who want to support the journey, Los Calladitos offer a selection of prints and silkscreens in their online store. Every purchase helps Ari and Chiki continue making their art - and keep building the universe their giants inhabit. Explore the collection here.

The Calladitos Mural Greeting San Miguel's Visitors

The Giants of Light, Queretaro

Ari and Chiki, Photo by Halejandro Cortés