Jesús Rafael Marcano Guzmán

Jesús Rafael Marcano Guzmán (literary pseudonym: Lin Xianhe 林仙鹤, also known as the “South American Samurai”) was born in Maturín, Venezuela, in 1993. He is a literary writer, sinologist, haijin, origami artist, mangaka, wise man, spiritual philosopher, workshop facilitator in Chinese-Japanese language and aesthetics, teacher, Chinese-Japanese literary translator, grammarian, international speaker, entrepreneur, and cultural promoter. His writings carry a mystical, philosophical, epic-fantastic, and apologetic background, with a traditional Japanese style inspired by Wafism and Wabi-sabi.

His work moves naturally between Japanese haiku, classical Chinese poetry, and spiritual reflection, nourished by his constant practice of QiGong. His most emblematic book, Hanasaki (2021), is a collection of poems in traditional Japanese form that dialogues in spirit with Lao Tzu’s Dao De Jing, revealing a voice that seeks essence in restraint and silence.

Published Works and Participations

• Poetry Anthology #Nos une la poesía – 21 authors (Mérida, 2021)
• Hanasaki (Mérida, 2021) – reviewed by poet and professor Dulce Burkooitz in the Royal Poetic-Literary Order Juan Benito (Spain, 2021)
• Electronic edition by Editorial SoyLivre (2022); 2nd electronic edition; editorial Laia editora (Argentina, 2024)
• Poetic Anthology Anime allo specchio (Italy, 2022)
• Haikus in Spanish magazine Poemame (Spain, 2023)
• Poetic anthology “Palabras para una reina” (2023)
• Poetic anthology “Un poema para Mariangel” (2023)
• Wonderful genre stories, essays, phrases and reflections (Maturín, 2023)
• Haikus in literary magazine Escritores rebeldes (2024)
• Haiku in literary magazine Elipsis (Mexico, 2024)
• I Haiku Contest at the Aragón-Japan Cultural Association (Spain, 2024)
• Haiku by La Cacharrería Efervescente (Colombia, 2024)
• I International Haiku Contest Acueducto de Hornos (Spain, 2024)
• Plus other in-person and online participations.

Cultural and Academic Contributions

Founder of the Sakura Centro Cultural de Arte y Literatura Japonesa (Sakura Cultural Center for Japanese Art and Literature) and of the Jaykism Movement (俳句教; 俳句主义 haikukyō; はいくイズム: haikuizumu), a poetic-philosophical movement. He is also an active member of the International Artistic Movement EIDOS (headquartered in France), where he currently serves as president and ambassador of its Venezuela-Asia branch.

He is the President-Founder of the International Society of Hispanic American Writers (SIDEH), creator of the artificial literary language ᚠaïry långuage, and a columnist for the Spanish newspaper Siglo XXI (based in Valencia, Spain, 2024–Present).

His work goes beyond poetic creation into academic dissemination. He is the author of bilingual works in Chinese-Spanish and Japanese, establishing himself as one of the main promoters of Sinology and Asian letters in Iberoamerica.

He has published research on the influence of Chinese religion and philosophy on culture and language for the Association of Chinese Colleges in Spain; one of these essays was translated into French and appeared in the magazine TingaNews (Burkina Faso, 2026). He also regularly collaborates with the magazine China Bambú, Dragones y Tinta (Spain, 2025), where he has addressed both haiku and its Chinese roots, as well as published an article on the lineage of classical Chinese martial arts. His writing has also appeared in the portal Japón desde Japón (2025) and in the Spanish daily Siglo XXI.

His poetic work has crossed linguistic borders: he has published haikus in English in the Greek magazine Homo Universalis (2026), and in 2025 a haiku plaquette was released under the Giraluna Publishing imprint.

Memberships

• Member of the National System of Popular Cultors (Venezuela)
• Founding member of the editorial fund #Nos une la poesía (Mérida, 2021)
• Member of the International Artistic Movement EIDOS
• Member of the Sociedad de Poetas Andrés Eloy Blanco
• Member of the Ruta Latinoamericana de Poesía (Monagas State, Venezuela)

Distinctions and Honors

• First place poetry prize at the 1st International Exhibition Aventuras de papel (Mar de Plata, 2024)
• International Award Prof. Ciro Artemio Constantino Álvarez, awarded by the Royal International Academy of Art and Literature (Mexico, 2024)
• Honorary distinction: “Gran Maestre Litterarum Don Jesús Rafael Marcano Guzmán”

Haikus Dedicated to the Magical Lands of France

The rose petals

rain and fall on the France…
Colour crimson reds!

When you wake up

you feel to the butterflies
like fluttering.

Leave memories

like several leaves
in the distant fall.

Jesús Rafael Marcano

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The History of Venezuelan Art and Literature: Venezuelan Artists from Past and Present Who Have Left Their Mark on the World!

Author: Jesús Rafael Marcano Guzmán

Venezuela’s creative history is defined as a constant dialogue between the exuberance of the tropics and the rigor of form. From the historical canvas to the fold of a piece of paper, Venezuelan art seeks to capture the essence of reality through diverse movements and eras.

1. Colonial and Independence Era (18th – 19th Centuries)

During this period, art served as a reflection and symbol of the republican birth. In the visual arts, civil portraiture and patriotic iconography stood out. Juan Lovera, known as the “Painter of the Heroes,” is the central figure for recording foundational moments such as the events of April 19th. Meanwhile, literature was placed at the service of enlightenment and liberating pedagogy through the figures of the linguist and humanist philosopher Andrés Bello and the master Simón Rodríguez, who laid the foundations of Hispano-American thought.

2. The 19th Century: The Splendor of Academism

Under the influence of European schools, the mastery of oil painting technique reached its peak in Venezuela. Arturo Michelena established himself as the master of heroic composition, while Cristóbal Rojas explored social drama and chiaroscuro. In the literary realm, the lyrical romanticism of Juan Antonio Pérez Bonalde introduced a melancholic sensibility and emotional depth that defined the poetry of the late century.

3. Early 20th Century: Landscape Painting and the Genesis of Magical Realism

This period marked a break from the closed studio to paint the natural atmosphere. The Círculo de Bellas Artes, with Manuel Cabré at the forefront, defined the visual identity of the Caracas Valley. Simultaneously, Armando Reverón revolutionized artistic drawing by focusing on “white light.”

In literature, this climate of exploration gave rise to one of Venezuela’s greatest contributions to the world: Magical Realism. It was Arturo Uslar Pietri who coined this term to describe the coexistence of the everyday with the mysterious. His novel Las lanzas coloradas and his short stories marked the beginning of an aesthetic where history and myth intertwine. Alongside him, Rómulo Gallegos and Teresa de la Parra elevated narrative through the exploration of the psyche and the land.

4. Modernity, Avant-Garde, and Fantastic Literature (1950 – 1980)

Venezuela became the world epicenter of kinetic art. Jesús Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez allowed art to be experienced through the vibration of color and the participation of the spectator.

In letters, while kinetism ordered space, Venezuelan Fantastic Literature began to disorder logic. Authors like Julio Garmendia, with his work La tienda de muñecos, laid the foundations for the urban fantastic and the absurd, moving away from traditional criollismo. Other relevant exponents such as Salvador Garmendia and later Ednodio Quintero, delved into the oneiric, the doppelgänger, and the disturbing, creating a tradition of the fantastic that remains current. This era also saw the birth of the reflective poetry of Rafael Cadenas (winner of the 2022 Cervantes Prize) and the mystical force of Vicente Gerbasi.

5. The Era of Minimalism and Neo-Stoicism: Origami, Haiku, and Jaykismo (Contemporary)

Currently, the search for beauty has shifted towards the minimal and the essential, where literature and manual arts converge in an integrative life philosophy.

Origami as a Healing Discipline

Origami in Venezuela has transcended mere craft to become a sculptural art and a therapeutic tool. This discipline, understood as an “art capable of healing” according to Marcano (2025), uses paper folding to structure thought. The geometric precision required in modular origami connects directly with the abstract and kinetic heritage of previous decades.

Haiku, Senryū, and Jaykismo

Japanese poetic brevity has found a solid home in the Venezuelan pen, adapting the haiku meter (5-7-5) to Caribbean fauna and flora. Poets like Eugenio Montejo and Wafi Salih have been pillars in this transition. In this context, the figure of Jesús Rafael Marcano Guzmán is fundamental, as he has managed to amalgamate the art of origami with short-form poetry.

Through his proposal of Jaykismo, Marcano Guzmán has expanded the limits of traditional haiku, granting it a universal dimension that has taken his work to international magazines in Asia and Europe. His poetic series function as a “drawing of words,” seeking the same visual purity as a line on canvas. The use of senryū also allows him to capture the irony and everyday nature of the human condition with an incisive brushstroke of barely three verses.

The history of art and literature in Venezuela is a constant path towards the purification of form and the exploration of the invisible. From the historical realism of Michelena and the magical realism of Uslar Pietri, to the delicate precision of a folded paper or a haiku by Marcano Guzmán, the common thread remains the same: the Venezuelan creator’s desire to grant order, light, and mystery to the human experience.