Christy Steadman
Christy Steadman
csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com
As a child, Victor Escobedo was the one who was always doodling on the desks in school classrooms.
“I've always been interested in art,” the now 35-year-old said. “But I don't subscribe to one thing.”
As an artist, Escobedo has formal training as an illustrator, but enjoys working with a variety of media.
His work in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit is a painting of a jaguar called Rey de la Selva, which translates to King of the Jungle in English.
“The symbolism reflects my Mayan roots, paired with hip-hop culture,” Escobedo said of the painting, adding that the jaguar is the apex predator of the Mayan region.
The piece is a smaller re-creation of a 10 foot-by-10 foot mural that Escobedo had been working on in collaboration with Denver artists Emanuel Martínez and David Ocelotl García — who also have works in the Hecho en Colorado exhibit — for the Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project.
Hailing from artisans from Yucatán, Mexico, Escobedo is the first generation in his family born in the United States.
“I grew up in a hub of culture,” Escobedo said of his upbringing in Los Angeles.
Joining his mother who had relocated to Colorado to live in a place that, at the time, was economically more viable, Escobedo moved to Denver in 2006 shortly after graduating high school.
He went on to earn a degree in 2011 from the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Lakewood.
Art is not currently his primary income — Escobedo makes a living doing odd jobs such as in the construction industry. He has also done some teaching/art instruction for middle-and-high-schoolers.
“It's the youth culture that informs everyone else,” Escobedo said.
While his Mayan heritage is prominent in some of his work, Escobedo also incorporates influences from all over the world in his art, he said.
To him, “art is me being able to be real.”
