103 East Plaza, Suite B Taos, New Mexico | +1 (575) 224 - 6911
 
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On a cold February 26th, 1958 the doctors told the parents of Patricio Tlacaelel Trujillo y Fuentes that their newborn would not live. He was born ill, premature and underweight. Robert and Mary Trujillo were devastated. What should normally be joyful day, filled with love, became tragic for Mary and Robert. But, as life is resilient and even thrives in the harshest of conditions, little Tlacaelel struggled, fought, and, with a lot of love, he survived the bleak prognosis.

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That was February 26th, 1958. Today, Tlacaelel continues to live. He has always appreciated and loved all that life has offered him.

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“I can understand why I was born premature, I wanted out of there, I wanted to escape the womb so that I could start my life. I know this because when I was two years old, I ran away from and was found walking down the street by a stranger who took me to the local jail to locate my parents.”, he recalls, “My mother tells me that when she got to the jail to claim me, I was very happy being entertained by the police officers, but with a soiled diaper.”

 

By the time he was five and enrolled in kindergarten, Tlacaelel became enthralled with cutting paper: the sensation of the paper, giving way under the shearing action of the scissors. He remembers always liking to do little art projects with paper. Once, he even took a pair of scissors from his kindergarten classroom and hid them in a little hole in the wall of his bedroom so his parents wouldn’t question where they came from.

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Tlacaelel refers to himself as a performance artist. “For me, creating art, no matter the medium is a performance." True to his philosophy Tlacaelel has performed at many venues and presented cut paper workshops around the country, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Millicent Rogers Museum and the Albuquerque Museum. His work has appeared numerous publications.

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Patricio Tlacaelel Trujillo Y Fuentes performs on the stage. He is currently performing his rendition of the epic poem "Yo Soy Joaquin / I am Joaquin" by Rudolfo 'Corky' Gonzales, which he brought to the Albuquerque state in 2016, for the second time. This moving performance follows his people's journey from the pre-colonial Aztec empire, through the centuries of fire and wind to the modern man in all his plainness - layers of his heritage and  history hidden beneath his suit.  "Yo Soy Joaquin" will be performed September 13th, 14th, and 15th at the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque.