Víctor Manuel REYES PORTILLO

Short Biography

I was born on January 6, 1971 in Los Mochis Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico. Thank God all my brothers and I were born with perfect health. We were 12 siblings and I was number eleven.

What happened to me was that I was involved in a terrible accident. In 1992, I was in my first year at the University taking my Bachelors degree in Computer Systems and all was going well in my life. On August 16 of that year, a trip to river Río San Miguel was organized with many of my friends, including my girlfriend Viki and her parents.

The place we went is beautiful and the waters are calmed, an ideal place to swim. When we arrived, we all started playing and having fun in the water. Some of my friends climbed the trunk of a tree that was at the edge to dive into the river. As I watched them, I did the same. My mistake was diving too close to the edge, hitting my head with the bottom and loosing consciousness instantly. When my friends noticed that I was not coming out to the surface, they went to get me out just in time, or I would have drowned since the current had dragged me for a few seconds.

I was taken quickly to the hospital for emergency attention. For a few moments I would recuperate my consciousness and would lose it again. The doctors diagnosed a fracture in the 6th. cervical vertebra which meant that I would remain quadriplegic due to the medullar lesion.

I received special attention in a rehabilitation program. However, soon after I convinced myself that I had to continue forward with no medical help available for this condition.  Fortunately, besides the solidarity received from my whole family and the special care from my sister Tere, thanks to her profession as a nurse, as well as the support from my girlfriend Virginia Flores Contreras, who never left my side from the day of the accident encouraging me with her presence and love. Without her, the situation would have been more difficult. We got married on March 14, 1998 and had a beautiful girl.

The reason I registered with the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists was because I met Prof. Lidia de Jesús Chaidéz López, who was a scholarship grantee. She explained fully the humanitarian and artistic work that this International Association does.  Truthfully, I was surprised to learn what this organization represents in the world. I became interested immediately and Lidia invited me to take painting classes with her.

Painting has become a great creative experience for me and an important reason to make big plans for the future. Prof. Lidia´s dedication in teaching me how to paint allowed me to advance very quickly and, after 8 months of classes, she encouraged me to send my best paintings to the Association in order to request my registration.

While I waited for an answer I thought I would probably not be accepted. But my wife Viki encouraged by telling me that she had no doubt of my acceptance. She was right. When the positive response finally arrived, it was like a true gift from the heavens. I immediately told Lidia the good news letting her know that, without her teachings, I would have never being able to achieve the scholarship.

Now my hope is to continue improving the plastic quality of my works with the help and advice of Prof. Lidia, whom I am eternally grateful for all the support she has given me to achieve the start of new phase in my life. Because I know that painting will allow me not only to express my creativity and emotions, but will also help me to improve the quality of my life, to be a better husband, a better father and a better human being.