COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Beautiful works of art are on display at the Cultural Arts Center in Downtown Columbus. It’s called Pasos de Arte, and it’s the first time art organizations have partnered with a nonprofit organization to highlight Latino art.

The exhibit started after Nesa Abalo donated a piece of art to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Center on the west side of Columbus. Abalo doesn’t call herself an artist, but organizers say Abalo is the whole reason the exhibit. The piece she donated sparked the idea to create an exhibit featuring local Latino artists.

“She never believed she an artist, you know other people like what she do and she like this is so simple to do anybody can do it,” said Nesa Abalo’s daughter, Rita Ulate. “I actually [tried] once myself wasn’t able to it and said, okay mom no this is not something that everybody can do.”

Ulate said her mom has always been artistic. She started drawing at a young age and is creative with her hands.

Abalo started creating her art work a year ago. She uses paint along with chocolate wrappers — which is a technique she learned in Cuba.

She’s created more than 100 paintings with thousands of chocolate wrappers. She says she has used hundreds of pounds of chocolate.

“She says not only the Spanish culture but I don’t think a lot of importance to the work that I do you so it’s really good that people like it and she can share it,” said Rita Ulate

Friday was the opening of this exhibit and it runs until September 16th which is the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.