# Macondo font

> A calligraphic display face by John Vargas Beltrán, drawn from tarot illustrations that honour a García Márquez novel.

Macondo is a calligraphic display typeface by John Vargas Beltrán, based on lettering from tarot card illustrations inspired by Gabriel García Márquez's Cien Años de Soledad. Macondo comes as one Regular style with 311 glyphs in the Latin character set, including swash capitals and alternates. Macondo is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 for titles and short texts.

## 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: 311
- Character sets: latin
- Last updated: 2025-09-11
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Macondo
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/macondo
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Logos, Packaging

## About Macondo

Macondo is a display typeface that turns a personal style of calligraphy into a regular digital alphabet. Its strokes are soft and nearly even, with rounded, slightly swollen ends; in the specimen the A carries a crossbar that sweeps out to the left, the M is a rounded uncial-like form and the e is drawn as an open curve with a tongue. The official notes trace the shapes to illustrations for a set of tarot cards that drew on Gabriel García Márquez's novel Cien Años de Soledad. Early versions date from 1997 and the font was substantially reworked in 2009. Swash capitals and other alternate letters are built in, and Macondo Swash Caps is published as a separate sister family. Macondo has one Regular style with 311 glyphs in the basic Latin subset and is 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

- **Fantasy and folklore book covers**: Uncial-like capitals and soft pen strokes suit titles for magical-realist fiction, fairy tales and myth collections.
- **Card and board game graphics**: The letterforms come from tarot card artwork, which carries over naturally to card titles and rule-book headings.
- **Artisan food labels**: Rounded stroke ends and the sweeping A give coffee, chocolate and spice labels a hand-lettered name.
- **Festival and theatre posters**: Swash capitals and alternates let a title line be varied letter by letter.

## Things to know

- **One style**: Macondo has only Regular 400, with no bold or italic.
- **Sister family for swashes**: Macondo Swash Caps is a separate family; in Macondo itself the swash capitals are alternates.
- **Basic Latin subset**: The font lists the Latin subset only, with 311 glyphs. Spanish, Portuguese and French letters are covered.

## FAQs

### Is Macondo free for commercial use?

Yes. Macondo is published under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows use in personal and commercial work, modification and redistribution. The font cannot be sold on its own, and modified versions stay under the same license.

### Who designed Macondo?

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

### How many weights does Macondo have?

Macondo has one weight, Regular 400.

### Where does the name Macondo come from?

The official notes link Macondo to Gabriel García Márquez's Cien Años de Soledad: the letterforms grew out of tarot card illustrations inspired by that novel.

### Which languages does Macondo support?

Macondo includes the letters needed for English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch and the Nordic languages. Only the basic Latin subset is provided.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/macondo (trendhub)