I was born in Bogotá, Colombia on a Sunday afternoon in 1987. I studied Visual Arts at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá and later on I did a master's degree in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, in England. I am the author of the graphic novel ‘Elephants in the room’, published by Cohete Cómics and reviewed as one of the best books on 2016 by Arcadia magazine. Also, I co-authored with Maria Alejandra Grillo and Pablo Guerra, a chapter of the comic "Recetario de Sabores Lejanos" (Chapter 2, Cohete Comics, 2020). In 2021, I participated with two illustrations in the project 'Good night stories for rebel girls' - Colombia and Ecuador version - (Planeta 2021). I have illustrated different books such as 'Professor Olacho' (2021), Editorial SM Colombia, Naricita impertinente' (2019), published by IDARTES in the collection 'Libro al Viento', 'Seisdedos' (2020), Editorial Norma, 'Chicas Asustosas y además hermosas' (2019), Editorial Siete Gatos, and, 'Arrullos y rimas para niños despiertos'(2017) by Editorial Norma.
My illustrations and comic strips have been published in different Colombian media such as the Entreviñetas section of the newspaper El Espectador, the supplement '10' of Arcadia magazine, El Malpensante magazine, Diners magazine, El Tiempo newspaper, Brígida magazine (Chile) and the blog Historias de Mamás. In 2019, I was selected to create the image of the third version of the contest ‘Bogotá en 100 palabras’ and I illustrated the winning stories of its 2017 and 2018 versions. I was professor at the Javeriana University at the Illustration Department in Bogotá during 2016 to 2021 and also, during 2021, co-director of the Graphic Narrative Workshop of Bogotá (IDARTES).
I work with organizations such as Sentiido, Dejusticia and Colombia Diversa in the production of images for campaigns in favor of human rights, gender equality and social equality. I am currently part of the ACLIJ (Colombian Association of Children's and Young People's Literature) and I work as a freelance illustrator.
My works have been selected and exhibited by ImagenPalabra7 (2016), Salón Visual Bacánika (2017), SimbraFest (2017), Exhibition of Graduates of the Universidad Javeriana (2017) and Iluminaciones Mirabilia (2019). Also by ENOUGH Project, in Alberta, Canada (2018). I have been a jury of the District Prize for Graphic Narrative and the District Prize for Illustration (IDARTES - 2020), Cuentos Pintados contest of the municipality of Sopó, Cundinamarca, (2018, 2019) and of the fourth edition of the A33 catalog of Xaverian illustrators (2019), which I was part in 2017. The same year, I participated in the trazos Viajeros project of the "Hay Festival" - Cartagena and in Tajalápiz Vol. 2, a sketches catalog of Colombian artists.
I have offered talks and workshops in different fairs such as the Panama International Book Fair (2017), the Festival Epico of Barranquilla (2017), the Neiva Book and Reading Fair (2017), the Entreviñetas Festival (2017, 2018), the Tumaco Vive Cultural Fair (2018), the Casa de la Lectura Foundation in Cali (2018, 2019), the Workshop with Writer in Pelaya, Cesar (2018), the International Children's and Youth Book Fair of Mexico (2018 ) and the Providence Book Fair (2019). With the Plan for the Promotion of Colombians Abroad, I have travelled to Norway and Chile to carry out theoretical and practical workshops. During the years 2018 and 2019 I was part of a cultural exchange between Brussels and Bogotá that sought to generate social impact on vulnerable populations and which resulted in the development of "Pile ou Face / Cara o Sello - A comic for peace".
Over the years, I have discovered that making books is the best way to share stories, tales and adventures. I'm interested in creating editorial projects and the non-linear way in which graphic ideas evolve. A process that could be compared with the preparation of a new recipe: combining many ingredients, experimenting again and again, removing, adding, proposing and testing until you get the desired flavour. That is why I use illustration, drawing, comics, promoting reading and creating spaces to develop projects that involve visual languages: fanzines, drawing laboratories, GIFS design, traditional animation and comic creation. Then, my portfolio includes workshops where drawing and comics are essential tools for the development of activities with children's, youth and adult groups. One of my purposes is to encourage people to draw and tell their own stories, providing them with the basic tools to express themselves and, perhaps, communicate in ways they were not used to before.
Currently, I work on the following projects: a second graphic novel and several fiction and non-fiction children's books with educational content, such as Benny and his Jazz Orchestra. Some of the teachers I have studied with are: Diana Castellanos, Ana María Lozano, Martin Salisbury, Pam Smy and Marta Altés.
Education:
2014 - 2016 - Master in Children's Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge, UK.
2007 - 2013 - Bachelor in Visual Arts, with major in Graphic Expression, Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
