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| Guadalupita Ortiz |
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Nomination:
For her role as Santera in the field of Spanish Colonial Sacred Art
GUADALUPITA ORTIZ
She was born on December 12th, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and named “Guadalupita” by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Santa Fe. On the day of her baptism her godparents also named her Maria after her paternal grandmother and Francisca after her maternal grandmother.
As a child she was moved by creativity and loved art. As an adult she became interested in religious icons (Santos) while working at the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. What intrigued her the most was the research involved in the creation of retablos, i.e., methods, techniques and biographical history about each saint. Being a cradle Catholic she grew up seeing the beautiful plaster of paris statues imported from Europe and also the New Mexican Santos in the churches in Northern New Mexico. After many years of hard work and a screening process, Guadalupita was accepted into the Annual Spanish Market in 1979 and has shown every summer since then. What makes her artwork different than the array of other Hispanic Santeros and Santeras is that she had no desire to "copy" traditional techniques or themes. God not only gave this artist-rare a special talent — but an amazing style uniquely her own. Guadalupita’s original paintings can be found in private homes and collections throughout the United States, South America and Europe. Recently she has accepted commissions to paint life size paintings for churches. Her “Our Lady of Guadalupe” hangs at St. Thomas More Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and a series of five paintings depicting the story of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego adorn the walls of the “Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe” in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Her most treasured commission is of “The Sacred Heart of Jesus” painted for the Lay Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and The Sacred Heart of Jesus Prayer Group of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. Guadalupita, remembering that her grandfather was a member of “El Sagrado Corzaon de Jesus” — a ministry of men dedicated to the Sacred Heart in Northern New Mexico — did extensive research on the history of the Sacred Heart and asked the ministries and parish in New Orleans to pray for her as she painted the image.
Guadalupita Ortiz lives in Albuquerque with her husband, Tony, and is the mother of two sons.
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