Mago Orona Gándara Explained

Birth Date:8 February 1929
Death Place:El Paso, Texas, US
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.

Biography

Orona Gándara was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Her nickname, "Mago," means "magician" in Spanish.[1] She was a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and then went on to teach art at Bowie High School. In 1949, she saved $1,000 to go and study at the Art Institute of Chicago.[2] She attended the Chouinard Art Institute.[3] Orona Gándara also studied with Urbici Soler. When Orona Gándara was twenty-one, she got married and had five children.[4] For many years, she followed her husband in his career, only separating after twenty-one years to pursue her own art career.

Orona Gándara returned to El Paso in late 1971 after living in California for around twenty years.[5] She began teaching classes at the El Paso Museum of Art and opened her own art studio. Orona Gándara also began teaching at the El Paso Community College (EPCC). A mural project she did for EPCC became part of her master's degree from Antioch University.

She also opened an art studio in Juárez with help from her daughter who lent her the money for the home and studio. In the state of Chihuahua, Orona Gándara was considered an "art queen."[6] She also attempted to make a difference in the colonia she lived in, Colonia Libertad, using art and murals.[7] 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.[8] [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]

Work

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. Her murals, Señor Sol and Time and Sand were created by her working alone. Señor Sol has degraded over time and Orona Gándara considered it "neglected and dishonored." 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. Gándara's final work was a tiled sculpture at her own home in Central El Paso based on St. Francis of Assisi.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hakim, Musa Abdul. https://books.google.com/books?id=QmFUC1HZIl8C&q=%22orona+gandara%22&pg=PA262. Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives: Women in American History. SR Books. 2000. 9780842027540. Lindenmeyer. Kriste. Lanham, Maryland. 262. en. Mago Orona Gandara.
  2. News: The Art of El Paso - The Texas Observer. Baron. Richard. 2005-06-10. The Texas Observer. 2018-05-01. en-US.
  3. News: Art From the Border. 4 October 1992. Albuquerque Journal. 2018-04-29. en. Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Margarita "Magos" Orona. García. Joaquín. 14 June 2016. Net Noticias.mx. 2018-04-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20160615114646/http://netnoticias.mx/2016-06-14-30a50ab6/margarita-magos-orona/. 15 June 2016.
  5. News: Muralist Depicts Struggle for Beliefs. Pierce. Betty. 13 May 1972. El Paso Herald-Post. 2018-04-29. en. Newspapers.com.
  6. Web site: Border Artist Seeks Haven in El Paso: Mago Gándara Leaves Juarez Studio After Threats. Davenport. Bill. 21 August 2011. Glasstire. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20120215140732/http://glasstire.com/2011/08/21/border-artist-seeks-haven-in-el-paso-mago-gandara-leaves-juarez-studio-after-threats/. 15 February 2012. 2018-05-01.
  7. Web site: MEXIKO – Mago Gándara – Künstlerin an der Grenze. Jokinen. Hannimari. 3 November 2017. IAK. Politisch Reisen. de-DE. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501173453/http://www.iak-net.de/mago-gandara-kuenstlerin-an-der-grenze/. 1 May 2018. 2018-05-01.
  8. News: Borderland tile muralist Margarita 'Mago' Gándara dies at 89. Cortés González. María. 20 February 2018. El Paso Times. 2018-04-29. en.
  9. News: When Sicarios Threatened to Kill Her, the Muralist Brought Her Art to El Paso. Urbina. Danielle. 2011-09-23. Borderzine. 2018-05-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20140626132320/http://borderzine.com/2011/09/when-sicarios-threatened-to-kill-her-the-muralist-brought-her-art-to-el-paso/. 26 June 2014. en-US.
  10. Web site: From 'Art Queen' to Exile: Juárez Muralist Mago Gándara Seeks her 'Revenge' in New Show. Rentería. Ramón. 22 August 2011. El Paso Times. News.Wexico. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501174239/http://news.wexico.com/arts-culture/22aug2011/from-art-queen-to-exile-jurez-muralist-mago-gndara-seeks-her-revenge-in-new-show.htm. 1 May 2018. 2018-05-01.
  11. News: Muere la artista plástica Mago Gándara. Arteaga. Roberto Carrillo. 21 February 2018. El Diario de Juárez. 2018-04-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180221160403/http://diario.mx/El_Paso/2018-02-20_310ea906/muere-la-artista-plastica-mago-gandara/. 21 February 2018. es-MX.
  12. Web site: Chicano Mural Movement. Acosta. Teresa Palomo. 12 June 2010. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. 29 April 2018.

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