Gabriel Mendoza Gagnier
Born (1992-02-09) February 9, 1992
Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico
Websitewww.lamanomagica.com

Gabriel Mendoza Gagnier (born 9 February 1992, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca) is a Mexican endurance horse rider, veterinarian, and Zapotec weaver by heritage. He won a medal in the NAYRC in 2012, and in 2023 won the "XI Concurso Nacional de Textiles y Rebozo", hosted by Fonart and Fomento Cultural Citibanamex, in the category of weaving, chals, serapes and chucks.

Early life and education

Gabriel Mendoza Gagnier was born in the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca in 1992. The village is known for its conservation of old traditions and the artistry of weaving with natural dyes. At the age of 13 he began to learn traditional weaving and dyeing with natural colors with his father, Arnulfo Mendoza Ruiz, José Luis Gutierrez, Tito Mendoza and Lupe Mendoza, all members of the Arnulfo Mendoza Workshop.

From 2013 to 2018 Gabriel Mendoza Gagnier studied veterinary science at the UPAEP and graduated with honors. He worked with The Donkey Sanctuary, World Horse Foundation and UNAM in Tehuantepec, after the earthquake of 2017. He helped the Brook Foundation with their programs in Puebla, Mexico. Alongside UPAEP, he co-founded "Leche Zaragoza", a program which looked to enhance milk production with animal welfare in small communities in the Sierra of Puebla.

During 2017, he retook fine weaving and reviving the fine tapestry project. Proof of the success has been an honorary mention at the Finding Hope Through art in 2022 by Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art (FOFA) y/and Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (Oaxaca State Museum of Folk Art, MEAPO). A year later in 2023, he won the national at XI Concurso Nacional de Textiles y Rebozo 2023 in the Category of Fonart and Fomento Cultural Citibanamex, that took place in Chiapas. He had an individual exhibition as well in the city hall of Seaside California and was part of Original Mexico, a textile project that the government generates every year in the ex-presidential houses in Los Pinos in Mexico City.

Career

Athletic career

Mendoza Gagnier competed in top-level endurance rides from 2009 to 2015 with Horseback Mexico Ranch which was founded by his mother in 2005.[1]

He has represented Mexico in equestrian events from 2009 to 2015. He won one silver metal with the Canadian team in the Yound Rider North American Championships in 2012 in Lexington, Kentucky.

Veterinarian career

Co-founder of the UPAEP program directed by named "Leche Zaragoza" which look to enhance milk production with animal welfare in small communities in the Sierra of Puebla.

Art career

In 2017, he became the director of La Mano Magica Gallery,[2] founded by his parents Mary Jane Gagnier and Arnulfo Mendoza (d. 2014). La Mano Magica is one of the first craft stores to show Oaxacan crafts as museum pieces. The art gallery is part of the store because Arnulfo Mendoza studied art at the university of Oaxaca, with his painting subsequently influencing his weaving.[3] The weaving workshop has been in the gallery since the beginning.

The gallery has featured pieces from over 300 artists, including Oaxacan artists like Enrique Flores, Maximino Javier, Arnulfo Mendoza (tapestries), Felipe Morales, Rodolfo Morales, Fernando Olivera, Alejandro Santiago, Shinzaburo Takeda, Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, and Crispin Vayadares. They have also promoted Mexican folkart masters like Josefina Aguilar, Alfonso Castillo Orta workshop (pottery), Angelico Jiménez, María Jiménez Ojeda (alebrijes), Carlomagno Pedro, Gabino Reyes, Angelica Vazquez, and Adrián Xuana. La Mano Mágica gallery has also had works by non-Mexican artists, such as Ismael Vargas, Mario Martin del Campo, Miriam Ladrón de Guevara, Javier Arévalo, Charles Barth (USA), Edwin Rojas (Chile), and Carlos Mérida (Guatemala).[4]

Awards and recognition

  • 2012 silver metal with the Canadian team in the Young Rideres Northamerican Championships(NYRC) in Lexington, Kentucky.
  • 2022 Honorary mention at the Finding Hope Through art in 2022 by Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art (FOFA) y/and Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (Oaxaca State Museum of Folk Art, MEAPO).[5]
  • 2022. Named distinguished Oaxacan by the Oaxaca Times for work and trajectory.[4]
  • 2023 winner of XI Concurso Nacional de Textiles y Rebozo 2023 in the Category of by Fonart and Fomento Cultural Citibanamex, that took place in Chiapas.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Horseback Mexico". Horseback Mexico. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  2. ↑ "Galería La Mano Mágica". La Mano Mágica (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  3. ↑ "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  4. 1 2 "La Mano Mágica". Oaxaca Times. 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  5. ↑ Encontrando Esperanza a TravéS del Arte: Finding Hope Through Art 2022 (PDF) (in Spanish and English). Oaxaca: Los amigos del Arte popular. 2022. p. 34. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  6. ↑ "Resultados XI Concurso Nacional de Textiles y Rebozo 2023". Gobierno de México (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-12-18.
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