Mago Orona Gándara | |
---|---|
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Born | February 8, 1929 |
Died | February 18, 2018
El Paso, Texas, US | (aged 89)
Nationality | American |
Education | |
Known for | Murals |
Margarita "Mago" Orona Gándara (February 8, 1929 – February 18, 2018) was a Chicana artist. She is known for her murals which can be seen throughout El Paso, Texas and in Ciudad Juárez.
Orona Gándara was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. [1] Her nickname, "Mago," means "magician" in Spanish. [2] She was a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and then went on to teach art at Bowie High School. [1] In 1949, she saved $1,000 to go and study at the Art Institute of Chicago. [3] She attended the Chouinard Art Institute. [4] Orona Gándara also studied with Urbici Soler. [5] When Orona Gándara was twenty-one, she got married and had five children. [6] For many years, she followed her husband in his career, only separating after twenty-one years to pursue her own art career. [2] [6]
Orona Gándara returned to El Paso in late 1971 after living in California for around twenty years. [1] She began teaching classes at the El Paso Museum of Art and opened her own art studio. [1] Orona Gándara also began teaching at the El Paso Community College (EPCC). [3] A mural project she did for EPCC became part of her master's degree from Antioch University. [3]
She also opened an art studio in Juárez with help from her daughter who lent her the money for the home and studio. [4] [3] In the state of Chihuahua, Orona Gándara was considered an "art queen." [7] She also attempted to make a difference in the colonia she lived in, Colonia Libertad, using art and murals. [7] [8] She left Juárez in 2011 when there was a large amount of violence in the city and when she was personally targeted by sicarios (assassins) who noticed that her truck had Texas license plates. [5] [9] After leaving Mexico, she continued to create art, calling her next exhibition of paintings, Immigrant Pilgrims, her "revenge" on those who drove her out of her home in the colonia. [10]
Orona Gándara died in her home of natural causes on February 18, 2018. [11] [5]
Orona Gándara is known as one of the few women creating murals in El Paso's art history. [12] Her work is a cultural mix of both Mexican and American themes and inhabits the concept of nepantla. [2] Her murals, Señor Sol and Time and Sand were created by her working alone. [12] Señor Sol has degraded over time and Orona Gándara considered it "neglected and dishonored." [10] Some of her work was influenced by Aztec themes, such as those displayed on La Avenida de los Aztecas and in the Tourist Information Center for Chamizal in Juárez. [11] Gándara's final work was a tiled sculpture at her own home in Central El Paso based on St. Francis of Assisi. [5]
Mago Orona Gándara | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | February 8, 1929 |
Died | February 18, 2018
El Paso, Texas, US | (aged 89)
Nationality | American |
Education | |
Known for | Murals |
Margarita "Mago" Orona Gándara (February 8, 1929 – February 18, 2018) was a Chicana artist. She is known for her murals which can be seen throughout El Paso, Texas and in Ciudad Juárez.
Orona Gándara was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. [1] Her nickname, "Mago," means "magician" in Spanish. [2] She was a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and then went on to teach art at Bowie High School. [1] In 1949, she saved $1,000 to go and study at the Art Institute of Chicago. [3] She attended the Chouinard Art Institute. [4] Orona Gándara also studied with Urbici Soler. [5] When Orona Gándara was twenty-one, she got married and had five children. [6] For many years, she followed her husband in his career, only separating after twenty-one years to pursue her own art career. [2] [6]
Orona Gándara returned to El Paso in late 1971 after living in California for around twenty years. [1] She began teaching classes at the El Paso Museum of Art and opened her own art studio. [1] Orona Gándara also began teaching at the El Paso Community College (EPCC). [3] A mural project she did for EPCC became part of her master's degree from Antioch University. [3]
She also opened an art studio in Juárez with help from her daughter who lent her the money for the home and studio. [4] [3] In the state of Chihuahua, Orona Gándara was considered an "art queen." [7] She also attempted to make a difference in the colonia she lived in, Colonia Libertad, using art and murals. [7] [8] She left Juárez in 2011 when there was a large amount of violence in the city and when she was personally targeted by sicarios (assassins) who noticed that her truck had Texas license plates. [5] [9] After leaving Mexico, she continued to create art, calling her next exhibition of paintings, Immigrant Pilgrims, her "revenge" on those who drove her out of her home in the colonia. [10]
Orona Gándara died in her home of natural causes on February 18, 2018. [11] [5]
Orona Gándara is known as one of the few women creating murals in El Paso's art history. [12] Her work is a cultural mix of both Mexican and American themes and inhabits the concept of nepantla. [2] Her murals, Señor Sol and Time and Sand were created by her working alone. [12] Señor Sol has degraded over time and Orona Gándara considered it "neglected and dishonored." [10] Some of her work was influenced by Aztec themes, such as those displayed on La Avenida de los Aztecas and in the Tourist Information Center for Chamizal in Juárez. [11] Gándara's final work was a tiled sculpture at her own home in Central El Paso based on St. Francis of Assisi. [5]