Who is Juana?

Juana Villamar Bello is a mountain indigenous woman from the central Mexican mountains, now living in Guadalajara, Mexico. She's full of rich stories and life experiences... some of them happy, some of them unbearable to hear.

Being a single mother from an early age she struggled to bring food to the table, provide clothing and school materials for her young child and juggle everyday-life. The only skill she had to help her was her passion: Painting. As an astute and fair person that she is, she campaigned for the rights of indigenous people in the mid 1990's, especially for gender equality rights.

Her personal views were seen as "uncomfortable" by many, including government officials and police, but she continued to support her cause for many years. Unfortunately Juana's life became impossible to continue, forcing her to leave for a "better life" in a big city; Guadalajara. As it happens in the majority of cases, indigenous people end up begging in the streets or selling their products at ridiculously cheap prices to tourists. Juana sold her paintings on the pavements, parks and busy roundabouts or in any place where tourists would haggle her prices down. With a second child strapped to her back she was literally kicked out of many places as she had no permit to sell on the streets.

Her luck changed when a local shop owner proposed to offer her a small room at the back of the premises, in exchange for her paintings on a regular basis. This arrangement allowed her to expose her work, and to occasionally go to markets to sell her paintings. And in one of these markets is where we met her.

We pay her more than anyone else for her artwork. We deal with deadlines stipulated by her, not by us. She now lives in a rented home with her 4 children. She continues to paint mostly for us, but exhibits her work in other parts of Guadalajara. Not only you get a great deal with her bark paintings, but Juana's family get a great deal, and a decent living too. She still feels strongly about her gender equality right ideals and keeps working with small groups in central Mexico to promote them.