Obregón took influence from European culture, while retaining an Andean imagery and stylistic creation, using guitars, bulls, and the Andean condor in his pieces. In 1959, Obregón painted his first condor, which has since appeared in almost fifty canvases during his career. While alluding to the nation, as the condor figures in Colombia's coat of arms, in Obregón's work, the condor also refers to the exaltation of the might of American nature, the ideal of liberty, and the power of vitality. The use of guitar iconography may have come from the influence of Picasso, whose Cubist influence was the starting point for Obregón's artwork.