On a recent visit to Placencia during Lobster Fest we pulled over the Lola's Gallery. Like a magnetic pull her sign beckoned to us on previous visits through Seine Bight. Lola Delgado established what is known in Placencia as the first (and longest running) art gallery when there was still no running water or electricity. She came to Seine Bight lured by the suggestion of good fishing by a friend. She fished professionally, so Placencia was an obvious choice to call home. She had concerns about Belize City feeling less safe raising a child at that time, so she and her daughter moved down and felt a deep connection to Seine Bight that became her permanent base. As tourists began to visit the peninsula with greater frequency. Lola decided she could offer her art as souvenirs that led to her buying the land the gallery sits on. In this way over time she was able to buy her home where she set up her gallery.
Her gallery is situated just beyond her studio at the front of her home just off the main street that runs through Placencia. When we arrive later in the morning we were greeted by a young dreadlocked man, who was managing the gallery as Lola prepared for the day. Lola's daughter leads her in to meet us setting her up in her studio as we picked out a small painting of a drummer dressed in vibrant colors on a bold green canvas. In addition to her canvas painting, Lola collaborates with Winton and Ras B on wooden pieces that they carve and she then paints on applying her signature bright palette. One wall filled with natural light from the window exhibited calabash gourd masks and another with flat rock paintings. Lola also had a selection of about a dozen illustrated books she's written that lined a shelf just below the gourd paintings..
San Ignacio artist Gianni Martinez reflected on visiting Lola's gallery while passing through Placencia living there. "They [her paintings] were unique and colorful. I like the women [Lola paints]. It's always great to have female influences in the country and [appreciate] how their art inspires others to create and paint."
In March of 2026 "Know Ourselves" published by the ImagiNation Factri included Lola Delgado. In the publication, according to artist Ingrid Cayetano, wife of artist Pen Cayetano, "she opened Placencia's first art gallery in 1989. The gallery celebrated it's 37th year on April 1. She chose April Fool's day to open her gallery because all her friends and family said she was coming down [To Placencia] to starve and die." She certainly proved them wrong decades later.
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