{"id":19311,"date":"2026-03-02T20:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?p=19311"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:35:12","slug":"gabriela-jimenez-marvan-midwest-culture-bearer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/stories\/gabriela-jimenez-marvan-midwest-culture-bearer\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n, Building Bridges Through Mexican Paper Art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From crafting intricate paper figures to kickstarting community traditions, Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n is a master at building beauty from humble beginnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Morelos, Mexico, Marv\u00e1n saw spectacular paper figures constructed by master artisans called cartoneros, especially at festivities like D\u00eda de Muertos. Cartoner\u00eda was more than an artform; it was a bedrock of culture and collective memory. But it was also at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n
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\u201cCartoner\u00eda was disappearing because not all of the generations wanted to continue,\u201d says the 2025 Midwest Culture Bearer awardee based in Viroqua, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

In 2016, she began apprenticing with a third-generation cartonera. She learned not just the trade, but the stories and names behind it. She studied at the folk art museum in Morelos (Museo Morelense de Arte Popular), and later with Leonardo Linares, whose family are perhaps the most well-known and influential cartoneros in the world.<\/p>\n

To pass on this knowledge, Marv\u00e1n founded a collective of women cartoneras in her hometown in south-central Mexico. They taught workshops for children and seniors, sometimes in partnership with environmental biologists. \u201cCartoner\u00eda is about reusing paper, so we wanted to connect that with environmental education,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Collective Art Making<\/h2>\n

With recycled paper and homemade glue\u2014cut, layered, pasted, dried, and painted\u2014cartoneros create figures of people, animals, or fantastical creatures called alebrijes (invented by Pedro Linares in the 1930s).<\/p>\n

Large-scale cartoner\u00eda pieces require a skeleton of wood or metal. Most times, it is not a solo activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity building is the heart of cartoner\u00eda, the heart of my life,\u201d Marv\u00e1n says. \u201cIn Mexico, cartoner\u00eda has always been a collective practice. Big figures are created by teams of artists and families. They are meant to be on the streets in the hands of the community. Working this way teaches you to collaborate and honor many voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

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So, after moving to rural Wisconsin, Marv\u00e1n set to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were \u201cvery few spaces of cultural diversity\u201d when she first relocated. \u201cInstead of seeing this as an absence, I saw it as an invitation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n with Cleo, a large alebrije installed at a local farm.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n and her father in studio building “Cleo” for a D\u00eda de los Muertos event in Wisconsin.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s a very flexible and kind technique,\u201d says Marv\u00e1n. \u201cIt\u2019s about reusing materials, especially paper. I make my glue using flour and water. It requires a lot of patience, because you have to let it dry\u2026sometimes for multiple days.\u201d\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Pictured here is a community ofrenda organized by Marv\u00e1n, the Mexican Folk Art Collective, and their partners. \u201cThe importance of the environment and organic farms connects strongly with my art form,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel so lucky to collaborate with farmers who also dream of community projects, like my friends at Driftless Curiosity and Keewaydin Farms.\u201d\n\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Peter Cozad \/ Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Marv\u00e1n also partners with other folk artists, including Ometotchtli Mexican Folk Dance Aztec dancers, to highlight the prehispanic elements of the celebration.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gabriela Jim\u00e9nez Marv\u00e1n<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n The artist has worked with various organizations and institutions in the country to bring cultural education and programming. Pictured here is an ofrenda created by Marv\u00e1n and her collaborators at the Milwaukee Art Museum.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n\n
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