I am a native of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, and began drawing at the age of six. A year later I received my first set of oils and painting lessons from a neighborhood artist who took an interest in my young artistic abilities. At age eleven I won an art school scholarship to the renown Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (I.N.B.A.) in Mazatlán, from which I graduated in 1978. Since then I have made a living teaching, through commercial art, and working as a fine artist, winning many awards at both the state and national level, including first place in the national competition, Carteles Alucivos a la Contaminación Ambiéntal in 1973. My family includes many musicians. As a youngster I was a keen observer of the traditional costumes and body paint used by the Matachines, groups of indigenous dancers that included my mother. My artistic sensibilities were also greatly influenced by the music I heard played within my family circle and on the streets of Mazatlán, by the sounds of my environment and by the huge carnival culture of Mazatlán. I married an American woman and settled in my wife’s hometown of Corte Madera in 2008. I was greatly attracted to the beauty of the Marin landscape, which has become the focus of much of my recent painting. But as an immigrant I have a piece of my heart in both countries, and the subject of many of my paintings, especially my abstract work, is rooted in my Mexican heritage. My fine art work includes landscapes, portraits and abstract works in water-color, oil, acrylic and pastels, as well as murals such as those in the Capilla La Milagrosa in Mazatlán, Mexico and in historic St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Stockton, CA. I have also worked in mosaic and sculpture and have commissions in private collections, churches and public sites. I am currently involved in a proposal to create a large, sculptural mural on the cliffs of Mazatlán, a project that will also involve a major redesign of areas of the Mazatlán waterfront.