Biography

       In order to speak of the ceramics in the city of Nasca - Peru, it is necessary to speak of the Great Teacher of the Crafts, Andrés Calle Flores, been born in “Poles”, Nasca - Ica - Peru, who to short age was left orphan of parents; it remembers much his Professor Roberto Turfs who taught the human values to him. To the 23 years house with Emilia Benavides Ricci, with whom it has 8 children of who 7 follow the art of Don Andrés.

      To the 26 years a very long drought forces it to be interested in necessity in the Nasca ceramics accompanying to its professor Teodorico Shore by slopes by: “The Poles”, their native earth, and when having pieces of ceramio in their hands ran by their mind the idea of to discover the form how they had done it the gentile ones (old villagers). One seted out to discover it in a year, but they have spent 67 years (to the 2008),  and he still says that him lack, although all their children know that he already it arrived perfectly from the ceramics.

     One began almost simultaneously with all the requirements of a ceramics:

THE STRUCTURE: THE MUD

       To try to discover whereupon mud (or clay) they did it, was passed traveling by several places of Nasca and other departments, even thought to travel to the forest.

       Account occurred that the fresh mud did not serve, served the macerated mud, it also discovered that the clay had small golden points, and he thought that it was gold, but no, it is pyrite (gold of the idiots) that is in the sand and this gave another idea him, mixed the clay with fine sand and the mud was more resistant, and could raise the walls of the huacos and darle la forma globular.

THE PAINTING: THE COLOR

       For the painting it was similarity, each color is of different nature, Would be tears of the plants = their petals? Would be the stones of colors of the rivers ground until becoming dust? , What would be? Perhaps earth?

       It traveled to San Juan de Lucanas and, in effect: it found territories of colors, to its return made the experiment with which it had brought; al introducir su brazo en la tierra blanca para disolverla, lo sacó de color amarillo, al consultar le dijeron que lo que había traído era veneno, y todo fue inútil.

    It traveled to Puquio, and anything. Also it used the lucraco and nothing. Pampas traveled to Jaipa, found the color white, also went to Burned Inn, Pitching, Santiago, Chuquimarán, Kajas here, etc. pero nada. The truth is that the paintings were to a meter underneath the Earth. The other colors like: red, the yellow one, lila, lead, coffee, red dark (ocher), they appear in small betas and they are difficult to find. The Nascas even used doce colores including, frosted target and silverplated frostlike embroidery.

       A strange curiosity: WHEREUPON PAINTED THE HUACOS?

       There was also another great problem, Whereupon painted gentile the their huacos. It was experienced yet, horse bristles, ewe wool, of auquénidos; and nothing, but a finding in a tomb clarified everything to it, were painted with brushes done with human hair, but NOT of adult people, but hair of baby; first the colors were painted and later the lines drew up.

       The reasons that are exhibited in the huacos are diverse, go from: Mitológicos beings, anthropomorphous, zoomorfos, fitomorfos beings, and lines of Pampas of Nasca, like the monkey, the spider, the colibrí, the pelican etc.

THE HORNEADO: THE MUD BECOMES CLAY.

      So that the ceramics cooks or hornee were great problems, the ceramios horneados in furnaces of two meters of depth, left wrinkled; by far coal disappeared the colors and the huacos were become deformed; when the furnace is of a meter of depth they leave better and now done only twenty kilos to him of coal. But all were experiments one after another one: The furnace, the size, the coal, the amount of coal, type of coal, the covering of the pieces, the horneado time of, etc. He says that with horneado of twelve to fourteen hours they leave the huacos similar to the original ones, but continues experimenting until with horneados of seven days.

       Don Andrés has been restaurador of several Museums of Peru like: The Museums of Nasca, Ica, Amanu de Lima, and of particular Museums of Sullana Piura among others.

         Their lessons, in their beginnings, were assimilated by Mr. Lucio Galician who taught to its children, and these to their grandsons; the same it happened with Alberto Segura that it also learned of the Teacher, considering him it, by this fact, its student.

       Now last in the 2.004, the teacher Andrés Rolando called to his son Benavides Street to his house, and she named his successor; Rolando Street more well-known like “TOBI”, is required by the TOURISTS who go to Nasca and are admired by the Didactics and charisma of its explanations and exhibitions that does of the art of its father, because the teacher has left his son Andrés Rolando Calle Benavides (Tobi), one of the most difficult tasks of its life and this it is:

* To perpetuate and to spread the work of its father, the TEACHER, to the entire world*.

        The 15 of August, in the occasion of the natalicio of its daughter Mirtha María Calle  Benavides, when doing the toast of honor and when taking the word like father from her, the Gentleman Andrés Calle Flores it said:“YOU ARE THE BEST ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS” and a applause of the TEACHER was let feel in the room before the admiration of the children and daughters of the TEACHER, the TEACHER had given his opinion.

        The 13 of September of the 2005, when appreciating again the ceramics of their Mirtha daughter, with a very full smile of affection, Don Andrés got to say, which any following son of the art of its father and simultaneously of its teacher wanted to listen “DAUGHTER… YOU HAVE SURPASSED TO ME " and its silence sealed its appreciation before the glance of the presents.

       So that absolutely NOBODY DOUBTS the will of Mr. Andrés Calle Flores, it asked repeated times to him on the authenticity of which it is exposed here and it gave his confirmation and ratified the exposed thing here,  and other things more than he said on their successor. (That will be in our hearts until the day arrives in which it closes his eyes to the ceramics and their legacy continues knowing throughout the world), and certificó with its company/signature:

Autógrafa of its company/signature and heading of Don Andrés Calle Flores 
The 16/4/2005, to 14:35 in Nasca Ica Peru giving faith of which.

          At the moment, with ninety and four years of age (to the 2008), and sesentaiseis years of experimentation in the ceramics, one takes a walk by the streets of Nasca being a pride for this city of Peru.

          At the present time You it will be able to find ceramics, but never like the one of Mr. Andrés Calle Flores, since he does not follow himself with the technique that used old the Peruvians, technical who discovered Mr. Andrés Calle Flores.

           IT does not surrender, nor will surrender and follow working in its discovery until the death takes it, and with him, Nasca has lost to his: “FAVORITE SON of NASCA” and “GREAT REGIONAL TEACHER OF the CRAFTS”, it embraces it and it says to him, Finally all its secrets that he while still alive tried to him to extract. "