As the daughter of a Maya Tseltal mother and an Anglo archaeologist father, I have experienced various aspects of ancient and living Maya traditions. I was born and raised in Chiapas, Mexico. My maternal grandparents were my first guides in using art as a tool for the preservation of our culture. My grandmother was an expert backstrap loom weaver. My grandfather, even without having a formal school education, was a historian, writer and teacher at the House of Culture in his community. From both I learned to value my indigenous identity. I immigrated to the United States in 2003. One aspect that impacted my life as an immigrant was the lack of community spaces that included my traditions. Driven by this experience, I found in art a new form of expression that reflected stories and my cultural memories. My purpose as an artist and cultural promoter is to make visible, celebrate and recognize the various “indigenous”, mixed and immigrant identities of the people who are part of the indigenous diaspora from the central and southern parts of this continent. I aim tohonor and celebrate the cultural heritage of Mexican Indigenous peoples, and to preserve our ancestral knowledge and cultural practices.

My artwork is based on storytelling and my connection with nature, combining contemporary and ancient Maya traditions. I enjoy working with oil, acrylic on canvas, and recycled paper to capture the vibrancy of living nature, our essence, our knowledge. Through my presentations and workshops you can expect to share and listen to stories while creating art to represent them. I can guide workshops on papermaking, bookmaking, and creating collages with handcrafted recycled paper. Currently, apart from my work as a full-time teacher, I collaborate with various local organizations, creating educational resources, curriculum, workshops and community conversations. In this way I work to create platforms that help us preserve ancestral knowledge to continue telling our stories.