# Macondo Swash Caps font

> The swash-capital sister of Macondo: calligraphic letters by John Vargas Beltrán with flourished capitals.

Macondo Swash Caps is a calligraphic display typeface by John Vargas Beltrán, the swash-capital sister of Macondo. Its forms come from tarot card illustrations inspired by Gabriel García Márquez's Cien Años de Soledad. Macondo Swash Caps has one Regular style with 247 glyphs, is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits titles and short lines.

## Facts

- Classification: [Display](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/display)
- Designed by: John Vargas Beltrán
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 1 (Regular 400)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 247
- Character sets: latin
- Last updated: 2025-09-08
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Macondo+Swash+Caps
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/macondo-swash-caps
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Logos

## About Macondo Swash Caps

Macondo Swash Caps is a calligraphic display face with rounded stroke ends and flourished capitals. In the specimen the A throws a long tail down to the left, the M opens with a looped entry stroke, the O holds a dot at its centre, and the lowercase stays comparatively plain, with an e whose bar tilts upward and a zero crossed by a slash. According to the official description, Macondo set out to turn an original, systematised style of calligraphy into a digital font; its forms derive from illustrations made for a tarot card game that was itself inspired by Gabriel García Márquez's novel Cien Años de Soledad. Early versions date from 1997 and the design was substantially improved in 2009. This sister family is one Regular file with 247 glyphs for Western European Latin, designed by John Vargas Beltrán and published under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright � 1997 - 2011, John Vargas Beltr�n (www.johnvargasbeltran.com|john.vargasbeltran@gmail.com), with Reserved Font Name Macondo.

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Book covers and chapter titles**: Swash capitals on the first letter of each word give a literary or fantasy title its ornament.
- **Cards and tabletop games**: The letterforms started as lettering for tarot card illustrations, and card titles return them to that setting.
- **Event posters**: A few large words show the tail of the A and the dotted O clearly.
- **Initials and drop caps**: A single swash capital at the start of a paragraph works as a decorative initial.
- **Shop names and logos**: The pen-drawn curves give a short name a handmade character.

## Things to know

- **Use capitals as initials**: In the specimen the swashes of adjacent capitals touch, so all-capital words are crowded.
- **One weight**: Macondo Swash Caps has Regular 400 only, with no italic.
- **Western European Latin**: French is covered except for the rare capital Ÿ; Turkish ğ and ş and Polish ą and ę are not in the font.

## FAQs

### Is Macondo Swash Caps free for commercial use?

Yes, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Macondo Swash Caps may be used in personal and commercial projects, modified and redistributed, but it cannot be sold on its own, and a modified version keeps the same license and may not use the Reserved Font Name without permission.

### Who designed Macondo Swash Caps?

Macondo Swash Caps was designed by John Vargas Beltrán, who is also named in the copyright notice.

### How many weights does Macondo Swash Caps have?

Macondo Swash Caps has one weight, Regular 400, and it is not a variable font.

### What does the name Macondo refer to?

Macondo Swash Caps belongs to the Macondo design, whose forms were inspired by tarot illustrations based on Gabriel García Márquez's Cien Años de Soledad.

### Which languages does Macondo Swash Caps support?

Macondo Swash Caps includes the letters needed for English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Catalan, Estonian and the Nordic languages, and French apart from the rare capital Ÿ.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/macondo-swash-caps (trendhub)