José ”chepito” Ureña Monge
![](https://desamparados.go.cr/sites/default/files/chepito_urena_2.jpg)
He was born on December 14, 1926 in Desamparados. He did his primary studies in the old school of San Rafael Abajo, where his drawings produced the admiration of teachers and companions. At age 17, he was appointed master of drawing at the García Monge School, where he remained for 12 years. Then he moved the Nicaragua School where he worked for 18 years, until he retired. Fulfilling one of the children's dreams, I worked for many years in the National Theater as a set designer and decorator for several international companies and directors.
His first solo exhibition was in the House of the Artist in 1962 with the support of OIga Espinach and Luccio Ranucci. In an old house of the Barrio Valencia in San Rafael Bajo de Desamparados, inherited from his grandparents, Chepito lived all his life, always attracted by rural life. With regard to the theme of his paintings, Chepito expresses: "I paint the rural landscape, traditions, legends, tales and myths of the villages, but what I liked to paint the most is the Costa Rican rural landscape, His cart ".