Juan Manuel Martínez Caltenco
Born in the Indigenous community of Tochimizolco, Puebla, Juan Manuel Martínez Caltenco is a self-taught painter whose artistic vocation emerged at an early age. In high school, he joined the socialist-leaning political collective CEPOR, contributing editorial cartoons and illustrations to the group's publications. At 19, he began working professionally as a painter, joining the Azcapotzalco painting workshop—a space where emerging artists honed their style through mutual critique, collaboration, and creative exchange. Martinez Caltenco’s work was featured in national art competitions, including the Third Youth Art Encounter (CREA), the First Bacardí Values Painting Contest, and the Aguascalientes Biennial organized by Mexico's National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA). He exhibited his work at venues like the José María Velasco Gallery in Peralvillo and the French Alliance of Lindavista, and collaborated with galleries such as "Barro y Barroco" (Echegaray, State of Mexico) and "Artes Visuales" (Mixcoac, Mexico City). In 1992, he held his first solo exhibition at the Acapetlahuacan Cultural Center. There, in 1998, he completed his first mural. A year later, he painted "Atlixco Toward the Third Millennium: Customs and Traditions" in the upper corridor of the Municipal Palace, followed by "Xelua and the Epic of Atlixco" in the palace's stairwell. These murals marked a pivotal moment in his trajectory and helped establish his career as a muralist. To date, Martínez Caltenco has completed approximately 40 murals and served as a creative director or collaborator on another dozen. Through his mural work, he seeks to portray the living history of cities, translating collective memory, identity, and tradition into powerful visual narratives.