Dimitar Krustev films
name: label: Creator
content: Krustev, Dimitar
place: label: Place
content: Darien (Panama : Province)
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The materials within this collection were donated by the creator, Dimitar Krustev.
creator: label: Creator
content: Krustev, Dimitar
culture: label: Culture
content: Choco/Chocoan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Dimitar Krustev films
abstract: label: Summary
content: Dimitar Krustev was a painter, photographer, and writer who travelled in Central and South America to document vanishing cultures. This collection includes materials relating to trips to the Pirre highlands in Darién province of Panama, where he filmed the Choco.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Dimitar Krustev was born in Bulgaria in 1920. He emigrated to the United States when he was 19 because he did not want to live under soviet rule. He was later condemned to death by the Communist Party, leading him to seek American citizenship.

He graduated from the National Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria, prior to his emigration. After reaching the United States, he earned his BA in Commercial Art from Kent State University and his Masters in Art History from the University of Iowa. 

Krustev worked for nine years as a graphic artist for Better Homes and Gardens, while simultaneously working as a commissioned portrait artist. He then founded the Des Moines Krustev Studio of Art.

After becoming inspired by Rousseau's concept of the "Noble Savage," he made it his goal to paint and document disappearing, indigenous peoples. In pursuit of this goal, he travelled through Central and South America during the 1960s and 1970s. His student, later wife, Helen Marie came with him on many of these trips. The two travelled frequently between Des Moines and Ajijic, Jalisco, in Mexico for nearly 30 years before they moved to Ajijic in 2000.
In addition to painting, Krustev was an avid photographer and writer. His paintings are held in a number of private collections and have been exhibited around the world.

Sources Consulted

Bercovitch, Heiyn. "Dimitar & Helen." Lake Chapala Review, February 2005.

"Dimitar Krustev." Des Moines Register, March 3, 2013.

Chronology

1920 -- Born in Bulgaria

circa 1939 -- Emigrated to the United States

1960s-1970s -- Travelled through Central and South America documenting vanishing cultures

2000 -- Moved to Ajijic, Jalisco (Mexico)

2013 -- Died on February 11 in Ajijic
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2 Film reels (color silent reversal; 2,036 feet, 16mm)
label: Extent
content: 1 Book
label: Extent
content: 180 Slides (photographs) (35mm)
label: Extent
content: 2 Sound cassettes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1971-circa 1977
label: Date
content: 1996
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: HSFA.2006.04
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Film reels
label: Type
content: Books
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Sound cassettes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged in 2 series: (1) Films, 1971-circa 1977; (2) Supplemental Materials, 1971-circa 1977, 1996
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by HSFA staff

Encoded by Katherine Christensen, November 2020
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: 1970.  -- River of the Sacred Monkey: Authentic Chronicle of Wilderness River Exploration in Central America, with a Valid Portrayal of the Last Remaining Descendants of the Vanishing Mayans -- . Charleston: printed by the author, distributed by Wilderness Holidays, 1970.

1992.  -- Voices in the Night -- . Des Moines: Studio Press, 1992.

1996.  -- The Journals of Dimitar Krustev, an Artist-Explorer, vol. 1 -- . Des Moines: printed by the author, 1996.

1997.  -- Black Hand Over the Jungle -- . Des Moines: printed by the author, 1997.

2013.  -- Lacondón Journal-1969: From the Journals of Dimitar Krustev: Artist-Explorer -- . Chicago: Editorial Mazatlan, 2013.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The films in this collection were shot in the Pirre highlands in Darién province of Panama, and document the Choco. According to The Journals of Dimitar Krustev (1996), Krustev filmed with a Bolex in 1971 and again in 1977. The supplemental materials in this collection include a copy of The Journals of Dimitar Krustev, slides taken on his trips to Pirre, and audio cassettes of music (probably recordings of the Choco for the films).

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Krustev's papers and journals are held at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming, and some of his films are held at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.