Artists

Meet our artists!


Betsie Pio copy.jpg

[ID: Brown-skinned person with black-gray long hair, lipstick and closed mouth looking towards the camera. Long sleeve shirt with purple and gray stripes, black vest and a seatbelt across chest. The background is blurred.]

Name: Betsie Pio
Nationality/Ethnicity: Chicana
Residence: San Diego, California


Fun Facts:

- Love exercising. 
- Lived in Ciudad de México (Mexico City) for a year during her childhood.
- Use Lengua de Señas Mexicana (LSM) and still learning.


Blanca altamirano.jpeg

[ID: Headshot of a light-skinned person with curly brown hair, lipstick, smiling towards the camera; gold necklace and a black shirt with white wording.

Name: Blanca Altamirano
Nationality/Ethnicity: Chicana
Residence: Los Angeles, California

Fun Facts:

- I do spells.
- It's always Halloween in my soul.
- Stickers are my obsession.


Celso Martinez copy.jpg

[ID: A brown-skinned person with black medium-long hair wearing a black shirt with stripes, khaki pants and cap with a skull face on the crown. Person is waving the Mexican flag with the right hand and looking and pointing to a certain direction with the left index finger. The background is a red brick wall with various flags of Latin America hung on a rack.]

Name: Celso Lozano Martinez
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican-American
Residence: New Mexico 

Fun Facts:  

-I was born in a car and transported to a hospital by fire truck.


Diana Lopez.jpeg

[ID: The background is white and there’s a brown-skinned person with a black hair, gray-ish bucket hat, eyes looking at the camera, closed mouth; opening hoodie to show a black shirt with the American Sign Language I-love-you handshape in skeletal form. The name of the artists near the thumb in black font readds “@duppet_puppet”]

Name: Diana Lopez
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican and Honduran
Residence: Los Angeles, California 

Fun Facts:  

- I love going to the beaches, go hike, and walk around the lake.
- I love to watch movies.
- I am an animal lover and love to play with my pets.


drago_lowrider.jpg

[ID: A black-and-white picture of a person standing behind a car wearing a hat, beard, dark pair of glasses frames, a dark leather jacket with a dark shirt, smiling at the the camera. The car to the left of the image is dark and shiny - a classic Chevrolet parked on a city street. There are three small flags propped up in front of the car's grille, from right to left: Mexican flag, American flag, and flag of California.]

Name: Drago Renteria
Nationality/Ethnicity: Chicano
Residence: San Francisco, California

Fun Facts: 

- Drago is a long-time Deaf LGBTQ / social justice activist, community leader, historian and organizer.
- He is originally from El Paso, Texas and was a cholo in his youth.
- Drago is also a photojournalist and social documentary photographer and has been working to document the hyper-gentrification taking place in his barrio, the Mission (Latinx) District of San Francisco, where he has resided for over two decades. 

-Find him on Instagram at @eselqueso and @dragomedia.


Gabriel Fleary.jpg

[ID: A brown-skinned person with cornrows, smiling, looking at the camera; wearing a red long-sleeve shirt with white font at the front that reads “(symbol of a camera) Coca Cola REFRESHING FILMS” sitting on a chair, black pants with hands folded in lap. The background is a blurred arcade.]

Name: Gabriel Ponte-Fleary
Nationality/Ethnicity: Venezuelan
Residence: Rochester, NY


Fun Facts:  

-I'm multilingual (English, Spanish, ASL, LSV [Venezuelan Sign Language])
-I love latin dancing (salsa, bachata, merengue)
-I'm a filmmaker in the making and recently became finalist in Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition where I was the producer of a short commercial and the first ever Deaf person to be involved.


Geraldo “Obed” Flores.jpg

[ID: A black-and-white picture of a standing person with a cap, goatee, cross earring, looking away from the camera; contrasting raglan shirt with VANS logo on one side of the chest; arms folded over chest. The background is filled with trees, leaves and cactuses.]

Name: Geraldo "Obed" Flores
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican
Residence: Santa Ana, California

Fun Facts:   

- Works at Disneyland
- Loves fishing
- Wants to become a tattoo artist


Iris V. Martinez.png

[ID: A light-skinned person with white/gray hair, glasses, red sweater, smiling and looking at the camera. A necklace with a pendant drawing of Frida Kahlo. In the background is a white wall with 2 frames (white and black) of Frida Kahlo mixed media art.]

Name: Iris V. Martinez
Nationality/Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Residence: Chicago, Illinois

Fun Facts:

- Loves Mexican culture, arts and foods.


Isabel Lainez.png

[ID: A brown-skinned, long-haired person, smiling, sitting down on a wooden table, looking at the camera; wearing a black strapless top, gold necklace and 2 rings, holding a large cup above a plate. To the right of the image is a small, black metal fence with a wooden platform; behind the person is a tree stump placed on a wooden platform. In the background is a scenery of trees overlooking a body of water.]

Name: Isabel Laínez
Nationality/Ethnicity: Salvadoreña
Residence: Ontario, Canada


Fun Facts: 

- -I love to look at the volcanoes in El Salvador.


Jose Garcia.jpg

[ID: A light-skinned bald person looking at the camera, smiling, sitting on the floor with extended arms; brown eyes and white goatee. A t-shirt with a vertical rainbow splatter of colors ranging from green, yellow, blue, orange and red. The background is filled with bushes, plants and a tree trunk.]

Name: Jose' O. Granda
Nationality/Ethnicity: Cuban
Residence: Miami, Florida

Fun Facts: 

-My fingerspelled name (José) comes with an accent mark above the letter “e” signed with a check which is expressed beautifully, visually and verbally.
-I am Cuban.
-I was born in Old Havana before Cuba became communist.


Kyra Nicolasa Ayala.png

[ID: A photo of a brown-skinned person looking away, leaning against a seat, holding a small dog with gray fur. Person is wearing a purple-pink cap, yellow-lime green striped sweater; blue hoop earrings; 2 rings on one finger.]

Name: Kyra Nicolasa Ayala
Nationality/Ethnicity: Salvadoran and Mexican
Residence: La Mesa, California


Fun Facts:

- Had 6 pets in her dorm
- Animal lover
- Loves biking


Lisa Montalvo-Diaz.png

[ID: The background has wooden panels. A brown-skinned person with brown hair and blonde highlights, to the right, wearing a straw fedora hat; looking away, laughing with mouth agape; yellow flower earrings on one ear, denim jacket and black top.]

Name: Lisa Montalvo-Diaz
Nationality/Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Residence: Washington, D.C. 


Fun Facts:  

-I love to sew which led me to make wine bottle covers. This was something I wanted to do to represent my Puerto Rican culture.


Lynn Moran.jpeg

[ID: A smiling brown-skinned person smiling with lips closed, long black hair, glasses, red lipstick and a gray long sleeve shirt. In the background, the top half is decorated with various arts on cabinet doors. The bottom half is covered with shower curtains.]

Name: Lynn Morán
Nationality/Ethnicity: Salvadoran-American
Residence: Los Angeles, California 

Fun Facts:  

-I am CRAZY about Legos and mini blocks!
-I love to do Do It Yourself (DIY) projects, solo and with my adorable nephews/niece!
-I love to play retro games like Nintendo, Sega, and more!
-I am a huge food lover!


Margarita Lozano.png

[ID: The background is beige. A brown-skinned person with white long hair, hands behind back, glasses, eyes looking at the camera; wearing silver earrings, gold necklace, a blue blouse decorated with multicolored floral designs.]

Name: Margarita Lozano
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican
Residence: Austin, Texas  

Fun Facts:  

- Mother of 4 Deaf children.
- Able to sign two languages: Mexican and American.
- She loves to make many dresses, blankets and others.
- From a large family of 8 siblings.


wrisper.jpg

[ID: A brown-skinned person with a goatee looking to the side, standing on a sidewalk wearing a black beanie with a white “W” stitched on front and wearing a black hoodie. The background is a large mural of a large brown face, eyes, black eyebrows and a red head covering. Above the mural are words in Spanish. Next to the mural, to the left, is a painting of a tree with green leaves.]

Name: Pedrito "Wrisper" Garcia
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican-American
Residence: Wilmington, California 


Fun Facts:  

-I used to go to Cal. State University, Long Beach for my Bachelor's of Fine arts (BFA)
-Mister Cartoon is my role model
-I love strawberry lemonade.


Raul Lozano, Jr..png

[ID: A brown-skinned person looking at the camera; person has short hair, white-gray beard, black glasses; gray hoodie with the lettering “RIT” in yellow and black and a tiger below the lettering. The background is a yellow wall with artwork painted by the person standing next to it. Artwork consists of a blue vase filled with white flowers and orange pollen surrounded with various fruits.]

Name: Raul Lozano
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican
Residence: Austin, Texas  

Fun Facts:  

- Attended Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as 90 SVP.
- Worked at a local bank as clerk, loan officers, and teller where I had been robbed twice and both of them caught.
- Love collecting comic books.


Ruthie Staley copy.jpg

[ID: The background is a warm red wall with a brown staircase to the right of the image. At the center is a brown-skinned person looking at the camera, with a closed mouth smile, black curly, long hair, strapless white floral top.]

Name: Ruthie Staley
Nationality/Ethnicity: Navajo/Spaniard
Residence: San Marcos, Texas 

Fun Facts: 

-I enjoy living out in the country.
-I love to share gospels.
-Loves spontaneity, last-minute plans (with the guidance of God).


salvador sanchez.JPG

[ID: A light-skinned person with long black hair, glasses, mustache, gray t-shirt looking at the camera. The background is filled with trees decorated with lights.]

Name: Salvador "Sal" Sanchez
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican
Residence: New Rochelle, New York 

Fun Facts:  

-My favorite childhood memory is riding my white horse every morning.  I rode for two hours trying to catch a rainbow before riding home.


Thomas Mulligan.JPG

[ID: A light-skinned person with short brown hair, minimal facial hair, standing, looking at the camera; wearing a gray t-shirt with the logo “RVCA” by the pocket and a black rosary. The background is a brick wall.]

Name: Thomas Xavier Mulligan
Nationality/Ethnicity: Cherokee/Spaniard
Residence: Tucson, Arizona


Fun Facts:  

- Finds inspiration and enchantment in navigation around the Americas and its peoples.


Victor Arellano Sr copy.jpg

[ID: A brown-skinned person with black-gray short hair, minimal facial hair, collar shirt with vertical stripes; looking at the camera with closed-mouth smile. In the background is a circular, wooden frame with brown sun rays on a beige wall.]

Name: Victor Arellano, Sr.
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican - Aztec - Mayan
Residence: Austin, Texas


Fun Facts: 

-Enjoys gardening, traveling and visiting museums. 


Yordi Morales.jpeg

[ID: A light-skinned person with short grown hair, smiling, wearing a brown jacket, beige vest and denim shirt; standing by a wall painted with hearts in various colors and a drawing of a cartoonish face in black.]

Name: Yordi Morales
Nationality/Ethnicity: Mexican
Residence: Washington, D.C.

Fun Facts: 

-I make rugs for fun at home
-I enjoy baking.
-I enjoy taking photographs of all the pastries I make.