Alejandro Santiago

Alejandro Santiago Ramírez was born on April 22, 1964, in Teococuilco de Marcos Pérez, a small Zapotec village in the mountains of the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca. During his childhood, he was surrounded by nature, local customs, his grandparents' language, and community stories. That deep connection to the land and the traditions of his people permanently shaped his worldview and artistic creation.

At nine years old, his family had to leave the countryside and move to Oaxaca City. Leaving the mountains to adapt to the city was not an easy transition for young Alejandro. In the face of this change, he found refuge in manual work and began making his own toys, such as slingshots, spinning tops, and marbles. This need to build objects with his hands became the seed of his talent and his first way of connecting with the world.

In 1974, he joined the first generation of the Rufino Tamayo Visual Arts Workshop under the tutelage of master Roberto Donís, where he consolidated a practice characterized by technical freedom and expressive exploration. This space operated with unique creative freedom: students lived and worked there full-time, encouraged to find their own style rather than copy traditional models. During this period of continuous learning, Alejandro developed the fluidity of his stroke through drawing and discovered the expressive strength that would define his graphic and pictorial work.

After completing that stage, he continued his training at the Oaxacan Graphic Arts Free Workshop, directed by Juan Alcázar, where he mastered printmaking and engraving techniques. In that same space, he met Zoila López, his life partner and creative collaborator. By 1985, his talent bore fruit with his first solo exhibition and the acquisition of three of his works by the Rockefeller Foundation—an achievement that boosted his professional profile in Mexico and abroad.

Alejandro Santiago's talent quickly crossed Mexico's borders. In 1993, his work was selected to participate in Europalia 93 in Brussels, Belgium (the prestigious international art festival dedicated that year to Mexico), a milestone that propelled his career across Europe. He lived in France for several years and presented his work in venues across Germany and the Netherlands. However, while living in these major cities, he experienced firsthand the distance and displacement of being far from his country.

Despite commercial success and international recognition, the strength of his Zapotec roots drew him back to Mexico. The experience of living abroad enriched his perspective on the human condition and the meaning of belonging. Back in Oaxaca, he began the most mature and committed phase of his career, focused on placing art at the service of his community.