I’m honored that my artwork was juried into the Triton Museum of Art’s statewide competition for the third time. 2026 Salon at the Triton.

This year, the competition drew more than 2,500 individual submissions, and only 117 works were selected for the exhibition, including my painting.

 Crisis de Identidad | 2021 | (Identity Crisis) acrylic, collage, oil, and wax on panel | 48” x 40”

To step into the ring of Mexican “Lucha Libre” is to transform—draped in vibrant mystery, you join an electrifying spectacle pulsing with anticipation, unity, and unrestrained joy. This painting is a tribute to my father’s beloved Saturday ritual: the roar of the crowd, the clink of his beer, and our living room erupting with laughter and shouts, week after week.

The dramatic, high-flying, fast-paced acrobatics and staged battles between heroes and villains have been a staple of Mexican pop culture since the early 1900’s, originally introduced to Mexico by French occupation forces in 1861.  

The iconic masks conjure mystery and forge unforgettable personas, each design a key to a secret world where legends are born. These Mexican folkloric, dramatic, and colorful masks were first simple and functional, often reflecting a wrestler's style, with designs ranging from demonic to heroic. They have always been regarded as sacred, a living symbol of the luchador's identity, separating their public in-ring persona from their private life. Many wrestlers begin their careers masked to establish this persona, with the design often passed down or evolving, and losing it in a match is considered a major defeat. The choice of mask is a deeply personal, often strategic decision that defines a wrestler's career.