About us
Our Mission:
As of October 2023, we have updated our mission statement to the following:
"Museo Guadalupe Aztlan's mission is to document, record, archive and exhibit Chicano and Chicana-themed cultural content; moreover, exhibit indigenous folk art of the Americas."
Our modus operandi is that of a museum-without-walls.
What we do:
Guided by the mission stated above, we seek to bring compelling exhibits and events directly to the people, both in Houston and beyond. We have several annual events and programs, which you can read more about here. In addition to those events, we often display various items from our collection at colleges, universities, and community centers as limited time exhibitions. Current exhibitions include: our collection of Chicano newspapers, and examinations of traditional molas and huipils. Learn more about these exhibits and many others here.
The Team:
Our work is made possible through the tireless work of our dedicated team:
Executive Director/ Founder:
Jesus Cantu Medel, M. Ed.
Board:
President: Feliciano Medel
Vice President: Venus Rodriguez
Assistant Vice President: Jose Vega
Treasurer: Mary Medel
Chaplin: Lorie Pinedo
Sergeant at Arms: Augustin Pinedo
Secretary: Cristie Santellana Gomez
Volunteers:
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Terry Spoonhunter
Violeta Alvarez, Photographer-in-residence
Robert Macias, Photographer-in-residence
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Past Advisors:
Jim Walter
Dr. Antonio Gonzalez
A welcome from the Executive Director/Founder, Jesus Cantu Medel, M.Ed, Museo Guadalupe Aztlan.
Houston, Texas, June 2022
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It is to my paternal grandfather, Feliciano Torres Medel, a shoemaker, candymaker and beermaker, that I owe my initial inspiration to engage in creating a folkart museum; but also, I had the help of other artists—Richardo Sanchez, Idelfonso Rodriguez, Marcos Mena, and others along the way. In retrospect, the name of our museum began as Artesanias Quinto Sol in 1985, and the idea then was to establish a shoe museum in Houston, Texas.
Our focus changed to put in place a folk art museum, and we were formally founded in March 1994. Our mission has been consistent: “to promote indigenous folk arts of the Americas, to include the Chicana/o and Latino communities.”
Beginning in 1994, our museum has added numerous, much-need programming in the area of Houston, Texas. We created Cine Cuauhtemoc Pan American Film Festival (1999); the Annual Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead (2001); El Nopal, la Serpiente y el Aguila Honorary Lecture Series; the Sembradores de Aztlan Oral History Project (2011); El Barrio Alacran Newsletter (2003); and the Chicano-Anahuac Digitizing Project (2020).
In the coming years, we only see great progress in the not-so-distant-horizon within our museum; while at the same time, marketing our massive cultural capital—our folkart collections, Chicano-themed newspapers, posters, and the like.
In closing, I thank the generous contribution of time and energy to my immediate family, our executive board, staff and volunteers have provided over the years. Muchas gracias!
---Jesus Cantu Medel, M.Ed,