Cilau Valadez

 

Cilau Valadez was born in 1988 to Huichol yarn artist Mariano Valadez and U.S. anthropologist Susana Eger Valadez.  His father embarked him on the artist’s path under the guidance of a highly esteemed shaman he studied with from the age of ten years old.  Cilau’s art incorporates his unique multi-cultural identity into visionary art that blends Huichol cultural traditions with the cosmic consciousness he has acquired on his own unique spiritual journey.  He is a world acclaimed artist who has taken this art from to a new level, while teaching many other Huichol young people to tap into their talent and creativity.  Cilau is the proud representative of Huichol art and culture in his numerous travels all over the world, bringing a awarenness of the beauty of Mexico’s indigenous cultures to the global community.  Visit Cilau at Galeria Tanana, Revolucion # 22, Sayulita, Nayarit or email him at wixarikacilau@gmail.com.

See more of Cilau's work here: 

 

Mariano Valadez Navarro

Mariano was born in the remote Wixárika village of Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlan, Jalisco in 1953. He was the youngest of eight children, and his father, a highly esteemed shaman, was tragically killed when he was five years old. His widowed mother took the family every year to the tobacco fields in Nayarit in order to provide for them.  When he returned to the mountains, his grandmother helped raise him and recounted the ancient stories and myths to him as he grew up. During the time he would spend every year in the outside world, he learned to read and write. At home, as he grew older he began to depict his grandma’s stories through the art of yarn painting. He was able to refine his skills and nuture his talent to depict the mystical world of the Huichols by working with other reknown yarn painters. Many of his inspirations and motifs originated from his participation in the peyote ceremonies that were part of Huichol life in the mountains. In 1975 he met his soon to be wife and mother of their three children, Susan Eger, now Susana Valadez, a US born anthopologist on a field trip to Tepic, Nayarit to study and document Huichol art and spirituality for her UCLA Master’s Degree.  They fell in love and were married for 18 years, raising their children in Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit. They founded the Centro Huichol in the 1980’s to provide aid and jobs in the arts to Huichols working in the tobacco fields. During that time, Mariano gained world recognition for his beautiful yarn paintings, and acquired many international patrons, including prestigious museums. He is one of the featured artists in the famous book Maestros del Arte Mexicano. He continues to reside in Santiago.

 See Mariano's work here:

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