Cultural Exchange Artist Demonstration Tent
Weekend 1
April 24 - 27 2025
11 am - 6 pm
Alec Dempster
Woodblock Prints
Mexico City, Mexico
Alec Dempster is a printmaker, musician, and writer whose work bridges the worlds of visual art and traditional Mexican music. His interdisciplinary projects weave together printmaking, oral history, and musical heritage, creating a unique dialogue between image and sound. Alec will present his original game, Son Jarocho Lotería, with live music daily at the Festival Kids area.
Tacho Utrera and Wendy Cao Romero
Guitar- Maker and Musicians
Veracruz, Mexico
Anastasio “Tacho” Utrera is a master artisan specializing in crafting string instruments unique to the Son Jarocho music of Veracruz, Mexico. He and is wife Wendy Cao Romero are also celebrated Son Jarocho musicians and members of the family band Los Utrera. Their dedication earned them a Grammy Award in 2023 for their collaboration with Arturo O’Farrill on the Latin Jazz album Fandango at the Wall.
Armando Martínez
Miniature Papel Picado
Mexico City, Mexico
Papel picado is a traditional Mexican folk art featuring intricately cut, colorful paper banners that adorn homes and streets during celebrations and holidays. Since 1990, Armando Martínez has honed the delicate hammer-and-chisel technique, pioneering the art of miniature papel picado.
Rosa Gonzalez
Embroiderer
Hidalgo, Mexico
Rosa Gonzalez is the founder of Tonani, a collective of artisans committed to preserving and promoting Otomi embroidery in Hidalgo, Mexico. Distinguished by its hand-drawn, hand-stitched designs, Otomi embroidery showcases vibrant colors and intricate floral and animal motifs.
Rosario Martinez and Roberto Vegas
Muralists
Oaxaca, Mexico
Street artists Roberto Vega and Rosario Martínez Llaguno founded the art collective Lapiztola in 2006. Combining stencil and serigraphy techniques with symbolic storytelling, they create strikingly evocative murals to spark dialogue.
Miguel Mendez, Mariana Guzman Lopez
and Jesús Julián Gaviña
Alfombristas
Guanajuato, Mexico
In Mexico and Guatemala, alfombras—meaning “carpets” or “rugs”—are a vibrant and ephemeral street art tradition. These intricate designs, crafted from sawdust, flowers, seeds, and other organic materials, adorn the streets to guide religious processions. In their hometown of Uriangato, Miguel Mendez, Mariana Guzmán López, and Jesús Julián Gaviña take part in creating monumental alfombras each year on October 6, as part of the celebration honoring Saint Michael the Archangel.
Cultural Exchange Artist Demonstration Tent
Weekend 2
May 1 - 4, 2025
11 am - 6 pm
Guillermina Barnett
Comcaác Basket Weaver
Sonora, Mexico
Guillermina “Mina” Barnett is a master artisan, cultural advocate, and environmental activist from the Comcaác nation in Sonora, Mexico. Comcaác women observe intricate rituals to process, dye, and weave fibers from the Torote plant, harvested in the desert. Each basket they create carries profound cultural significance and a deep spiritual essence.
Roque Jimenez
Alebrijes Wood Carving
Oaxaca, Mexico
Roque Jiménez comes from a lineage of master artisans, with his grandfather, Manuel, credited for establishing the tradition of Alebrije wood carving in their village of San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca, Mexico. Honoring the legacy of both his grandfather and his recently departed father, Roque has devoted his life to transforming copal wood into vibrant, fantastical creatures through the art of carving and painting.
Felipe Olmos
Mojigangas
Jalisco, Mexico
Felipe Olmos played a key role in reviving the centuries-old tradition of monos or mojigangas in his home town of San Juan de los Lagos where these towering papier-mâché puppets parade annually through the main square. He later moved his workshop to Guanajuato, where mojigangas are a beloved tradition, often featured in celebrations, parades, and weddings. At the Festival, Felipe will showcase his sculpting skills and join the daily Mexican parade throughout the fairgrounds, proudly wearing one of his creations.
Verónica Castillo
Tree of Life Ceramics
San Antonio, Texas
Verónica Castillo, an internationally acclaimed artist living in San Antonio, Texas. Castillo is renowned for her thought-provoking Tree of Life, or Árbol de la Vida, sculptures. In 2013, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded her the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship Award.
Gracias!
This presentation was made possible with the support of the Government of Veracruz. Other contributors include the Government of Aguascalientes, Fomento Educacional A.C & COMEXUS, and the Government of Jalisco.