The Exposición Centroamericana (Central American Expo) was an industrial and cultural exposition that took place in Guatemala in 1897 and which was approved on 8 March 1894 by the National Assembly by Decree 253 by a suggestion made by president general José María Reina Barrios, at a time when both coffee – only Guatemalan export at the time- and silver international prices were at an all-time high.

Its main goal was to showcase the Interoceanic railroad between Iztapa on the Pacific coast and Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic, a project that was well ahead by January 1897, but that was left unfinished when Guatemala went into a deep crisis due to both coffee and silver international prices plummeting after the government had built numerous public buildings and palaces in Guatemala City, simultaneously with the railroad projects.

As a result, the Expo failed dramatically, the Guatemalan economic crisis gave rise to several rebellions -mainly the ones in the Highlands and the one on the Eastern Side and president Reina Barrios was eventually assassinated on 8 February 1898.

Not only was the railroad vital for the Expo success, it was key to transport merchandise and passengers between the Caribbean Sea and the new Port of Iztapa on the Pacific shore of the country.

[6] The floating debt bonds, originally issued for three million Guatemalan pesos, were not available except for $380,000 that belonged to a very reduced group of wealthy people, who did not offered them because they did not have the need at the moment.

[8] The root cause for this serious problem was the excessive support that the Reina Barrios administration had given to fictitious needs -i.e., embellishing Guatemala City, a water project in Acatán and the millionaire expenses that went to the Central American Expo- which were done without considering the real country's balance sheet and that required massive private investors to help buying government bonds.

[2] On 15 May the newspapers reported that Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua stands had not been opened yet because the cargo shipped to Guatemala was not delivered on time due to a scheduling conflict.

Besides not accomplishing a Central American Union, it also pushed the country to the verge of economic collapse given the fall of coffee and silver international prices.

[18] Two years after that, Gamboa met with the sculptor again, and this time he tells that Gandarias had lost all hope of ever getting paid and that was in Guatemala barely surviving by selling cigarettes in Guatemala City; Gamboa visited Gandarias at his home and tells how the sculptures place was in total disarray, but kept some old paintings and sculptures that he was hoping to sell if he ever went back to Spain.