---
title: Crafting an American Audience for Central American Art
date: 2026-10-09T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/crafting-an-american-audience-for-central-american-art"
section: Articles
---
# Crafting an American Audience for Central American Art

*October 9, 2026* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> After years apart, two UMD swim teammates reconnected over their work bringing Latin American crafts and fine art to the U.S.

*NAHUALA 04 2 hero 1920x1080 — A weaver uses a backstrap loom to create a *hupil*, a traditional Central American garment. Regan Billingsley '98 works with Guatemalan artisans to bring these textiles to the U.S. Her former UMD swim teammate, Alvaro Godinez '99, also works with artists in Guatemala and El Salvador to share their pieces with audiences outside their countries. (Photos courtesy of Regan Billingsley ’98 and Alvaro Godinez ’99)*

<span>Thirty years after sharing the pool as swimming teammates at the University of Maryland, Regan Billingsley ’98 and Alvaro Godinez ’99 discovered that they share a different passion: bringing Latin American artists’ work to a U.S. audience. </span>

<span>Billingsley and Godinez each have art and design companies that import pieces from Central America, giving both traditional and contemporary art and crafts a wider audience beyond the artists’ countries. Years after losing touch, they’re now collaborating with each other. </span>

<span>“It’s been really cool to come together with someone from your past now doing very similar things,” said Billingsley. </span>


*Blue and white textiles in a bedroom set — Billingsley incorporates Central American textiles into her work as an interior designer.*


*Black and white photo of women among greenery in the mountains — Billingsley (second from right) imports Guatemalan textiles with the help of a women&#039;s weaving cooperative.*


<span>“They reflect the community where the woman is from and how she views the world,” said Billingsley. “When you’re taking those textiles and turning them into smaller objects and calling it ‘upcycled,’ it’s actually, in my mind, not very sustainable. If a woman is selling something that took her six months to make and is culturally significant, there has to be a need there.” </span>

*<span>Huipiles</span>*<span> are labor-intensive, woven by hand on either a backstrap loom that attaches around a weaver’s back, or a floor loom, a large piece of equipment operated using both feet and hands. Billingsley began traveling to Guatemala to meet artisans and hear from them about their work. Soon, she decided that she wanted to be part of preserving this ancient craft. </span>

<span>“The technique is at risk, like every kind of handmade technique throughout the world,” Billingsley said. Now she partners with a Guatemalan women’s weaving cooperative to sell the textiles to American customers through her line, </span>[<span>RB Curated</span>](https://www.rbcurated.com/about)<span>.</span>

<span>Recently, Billingsley posted a photo of her Guatemalan travels to social media. Godinez took note. He was born in Guatemala, and used to own a home with his family in the town of Antigua, the UNESCO World Heritage Site where Billingsley was posting from. “I asked her, ‘Hey, are you in Guatemala?’” he said.</span>


*Alvaro Godinez — Alvaro Godinez and his wife, Marcie, started Selûn Collective, which represents 50 artists from Guatemala and El Salvador.*


*A blurred blonde woman in front of a geometric art piece — Pamela Cerezo of Guatemala, a Selûn Collective artist, is inspired by geometry.*


Godinez and his wife, Marcie, wanted to help make fine art from Guatemala and El Salvador more marketable to the worldwide audience. Together, they founded [Selûn Collective](https://selun.com/), representing 50 artists from the two countries. The name is a combination of Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon, and *luna*, the Spanish word for moon; Alvaro and Marcie chose it to symbolize their role in reflecting the artists’ light to the world.

“We wanted to be the bridge that provides access to artists with great talent and have them be discovered by the world, because their work is amazing,” said Godinez, who now works on Selûn full-time. “We believe artists are the voice of the community, and we want to share that voice with the world.”

Once he reconnected with Billingsley on social media, the pair started talking about their similar work and about ways to collaborate. They’ve worked together on photo shoots, highlighting both the Guatemalan textiles and Selûn’s fine art.

“Maryland brought us together,” said Billingsley. “I’m supportive of his business and he’s supportive of mine.”


*A man holding a drawing of colorful people in front of a larger version of the same drawing, standing in an art studio — Guatemalan artist Sebastian Lopez Duran, represented by Selûn Collective, is a self-taught artist.*




**Topics:** [Arts &amp; Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Studio Art](https://today.umd.edu/topic/studio-art), [Art History and Archeology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/art-history-and-archeology), [Animal and Avian Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/animal-and-avian-sciences), [Hispanic Heritage Month](https://today.umd.edu/topic/hispanic-heritage-month), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts), [Multicultural Community](https://today.umd.edu/topic/multicultural-community)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources), [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)