Judge Marquez Lower Valley Branch

Special Exhibits

El Paso History, Lower Valley Pride" by María Almeida Natividad

A native of El Paso, Texas, María Almeida Natividad grew up surrounded by the rich culture and heritage of her Hispanic background. She feels that El Paso and the surrounding desert regions possess an abundance of rich tradition and interesting history. It is an appreciation of this culture and history that she wishes to convey and encourage in her artwork and art related activities.

As a visual artist, María is best known for her watercolor painting and mixed media work. Her poster, "Celebrate El Paso's Heritage" has been a popular image in the region and is displayed throughout the city.
She is also an installation artist and muralist. Most recently much of her artistic energy has been in the production of the Lower Valley Library mural and on a bilingual book for children dealing with the history of El Paso.

Throughout her artistic career María has held positions as an art gallery owner, art gallery director, art specialist and art consultant, She served as both organizer and presenter in numerous art workshops and conferences both locally and nationally. As artist and educator, she is a passionate advocate of inclusion and integration of the fine arts in the regular classroom curriculum.

María studied at Modesto Junior College, the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at El Paso where she received both a BA and an MA in Art Education. She also holds elementary, secondary, and AP teaching certificates and has been an educator in the public schools for over 20 years. Her award winning work has been exhibited in juried and non-juried exhibitions throughout the Southwest and is included in public and private collections across the United States.

Maria presently teaches art with the Ysleta School District and at El Paso Community College and is the Artist in Residence for UTEP's Chicano Studies Program. Her biography and art can be viewed on the Hispanic Resource Center at the Arizona State University website: http://www.latinoartcommunity.org/community/ChicArt/
ArtistDir/MarNat.html

María's artwork has been featured in two art books published by the Bilingual Press, a PBS series on Chicano Art, and in a literary anthology "Hecho en Tejas", a book featuring Texas writers and artists published by New Mexico University Press.

To contact the artist: 915-203-2309 or manatividad@hotmail.com
Website: http://marianatividad.com/