Manuel de la Cruz González Luján, painter, printmaker, and writer, was born in San Jose, Costa Rica on 16 April 1909.

He founded the "Experimental Theatre" group, composed of students and teachers at the University of Costa Rica but, by 1948, he left Costa Rica for political reasons and settled in Havana, Cuba. He traveled to Venezuela in 1951 and became a professor at the Center for Fine Arts in Maracaibo, Venezuela. In 1958, he returned to Costa Rica and in 1961 was one of the founders of the painters' group Group Ocho, which was instrumental in transforming Costa Rican art.

Manuel de la Cruz won the Silver medal in painting at the Exhibition of Plastic Arts of Costa Rica in 1931; the Silver medal in the Central American Exhibition of Plastic Arts in 1935; the Bronze medal in the Contemporary Art Exhibition, New York World's Fair 1939; the National Aquileo J. Echeverría Prize for Painting in 1963, and the Magón Culture Prize, the highest award of the Costa Rican culture, in 1981. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Costa Rican Art and the Museums of the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

Manuel de la Cruz González Luján died in San Jose, Costa Rica on 22 September 1986 at the age of 77 years old.