Ana Luisa Rincon
Biography
Updated 11/08/2009
Cats, drawings, Mafalda comic strips, and roller blades were my closest companions growing up as an only child, and with a single mother in Mexico City. In search of adventure, discovery, and independence, I started my first job at the age of 14, and studied English for one year at the Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales. 3 years later I moved to El Paso, Texas, where I became acquainted with the United States. After serious language-learning torture and filtering through odd jobs in Dallas/Ft. Worth, I left to Austin to pursue a degree in Studio Art at the University of Texas (long live Longhorns oh yeah). I actually graduated with honors! While in college, I became involved with the community as a public speaker and volunteer organizer for various purposes including cultural events and human rights causes, and created some art pieces inspired by this work. My years in the Live Music Capital of the World changed my view of dance and music forever.
After graduating in 1996, I joined a work-abroad program in Paris, France, where I learned about European Art History, experienced the local bureaucracy as an employee, and gained a few pounds with baguettes. After completing my program, I moved to San Francisco where I explored various fields, including administration and fundraising at the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. I also studied Animation, Graphics, and Web Design in San Francisco for one year. In 1999, I began to exhibit my work on various online galleries, and for two years, I was a staff member at the Yerbabuena Gardens Center for the Arts, where I organized the first all-staff artists show at the Museum. I also worked briefly as an apprentice to renown San Francisco Muralist Juana Alicia.
Simultaneously, I pursued my dance interests at the Mission Cultural Center as an Assistant Salsa Instructor and studied Samba under the instruction of the master and now deceased, Carlos Aceituno. I also performed in two Salsa groups for private shows and public events including the San Francisco Carnaval, and an opening act at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts.
The beautiful scenery of the Bay Area and a need for introspection inspired me to study various practices of meditation, including a one-week workshop at the Monroe Institute in Virginia in 1999. After some exploration, I have concluded that Art remains my main form of meditation, and my greatest source of relaxation, empowerment, and inspiration.
