The Craft
Each figure is individually made by hand and carries the marks of an independent artistic practice.
Central point: the contemporary duende phenomenon visible in Baños de Agua Santa begins in 2013 with La Casa del Duende, created by Fito Girolami and Catalina Lucz-Ligeti. It later expands through La Aldea Mágica.
Introduction
The contemporary presence of duendes in Baños emerged from an independent artistic practice rather than from a pre-existing municipal tourism campaign. Girolami and Lucz-Ligeti arrived in Baños in 2012 after travelling and working across South America. Their figures, stories and visual language found a specific territory in the city’s forests, water, mountains and volcanic landscape.
In 2013 they opened La Casa del Duende as a home workshop and exhibition space. Visitors could encounter original handcrafted figures, hear their stories and observe an artistic world taking shape in public.
Folklore and contemporary creation
Stories about duendes existed in Ecuador and throughout Latin America long before 2013. The documented claim is more specific: before La Casa del Duende, Baños did not yet have the same visible contemporary artistic phenomenon, recognisable visual language and public space that would later associate the city with duendes.
This distinction separates older oral traditions from a modern authored artwork. The two can enter into dialogue, but they are not the same historical process.
A work with identifiable creators
La Casa del Duende was created by Fito Girolami and Catalina Lucz-Ligeti. Its development can be traced through photographs, press records, artworks, publications, visitor testimony and the evolution of its physical spaces.
A brief timeline
2012
Girolami and Lucz-Ligeti arrive in Baños and continue developing figures, scenes and stories connected with the feeric imagination.
2013
La Casa del Duende opens as a home workshop and independent artistic space accessible to visitors.
2014–2017
Images, conversations and visitor experiences begin associating the project’s duendes with Baños de Agua Santa.
2018
La Aldea Mágica opens as a walkable garden where sculptures, nature, paths and light become an immersive artwork.
2024–2026
Books, digital archives, DOI publications and research consolidate the documentary record of the project.
La Aldea Mágica
Created in 2018, La Aldea Mágica is the experiential expansion of La Casa del Duende. It transforms the artistic universe into a garden that visitors can walk through, combining original sculptures, vegetation, paths, small texts and evening light.
The Territory
The work responds to Baños through water, forest, mountain, paths and local memory.
The Symbol
The duende is approached as an artistic and cultural figure, not as a promise of supernatural powers.
Cultural Duendismo
Cultural Duendismo is a conceptual framework developed to study the relationship between this artwork, imagination, territory, authorship, tourism and shared memory. It distinguishes an artistic duende from commercial decoration or literal superstition while examining how symbols change when they circulate through a tourist city.
Frequently asked questions
What is the documented origin of the contemporary duendes in Baños?
It is located in La Casa del Duende, opened in 2013 by Fito Girolami and Catalina Lucz-Ligeti.
Did stories about duendes exist before 2013?
Yes. Oral traditions about duendes are much older. The 2013 date refers to the contemporary visual and artistic phenomenon developed publicly in Baños.
What is Lorenzo?
Lorenzo is a foundational figure within the early narrative and artistic history of La Casa del Duende.
What is the difference between La Casa del Duende and La Aldea Mágica?
La Casa del Duende is the originating project and workshop; La Aldea Mágica is its later garden and walkable experience.