time, which led to his first exhibition of works in France. Llort spent many years away from his home country in his pursuit of education. During Llort's time abroad, he felt a disconnect from his culture and would rekindle it in his exhibition in France, where inspiration of Mayan culture influenced Llort's work to connect themes of identity to relate to his Latin American heritage. Finishing his time in Europe, Llort traveled to study in the United States at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he would start taking formal art courses, along with modern architecture and English classes. Llort was not satisfied with the rigidity of North American education, as it restricted his creativity. Experiencing discrimination, materialism and other values of American society that Llort was not fond of, he left America in 1971, and returned to El Salvador. Post-education Fernando Llort and a few other of his friends began to explore music inspired by the American Hippie movement of the 1960s upon his return to El Salvador. They would go on to form a band called La Banda del Sol (The Sun Band). During their time together, they would create and compose songs heavily influenced by religion and spirituality. These themes would eventually translate in the (Palmeño style), a style Llort created himself. To escape instability, in 1971 he and other young artists moved to the town of La Palma in the northern region of El Salvador, close to the border with Honduras. La Palma was a small, low-income town with high crime rates, and low employment at the time of Llort's arrival. The simple life he lived in the mountains was a refuge from what was happening throughout the rest of the country. Llort's assimilation into the village life and lush natural environment greatly influenced his art. Once, while touring the canals, Llort noticed a child rubbing a capinol tree seed against the ground to reveal a white surface, framed by the brown sides of the outer casing of the seed. This would become a staple in La Palma's and Llort's history, as it incorporated the main essence of estilo Palmeño; the natural surface provided by the land, and folk art style created by Llort. Artistic practice Fernando Llort's artistic practice was formed off themes of identity that often coincided with idealist, spiritual beliefs. During his time in La Palma, Chalatenango he would spend