Gallardo Ibarra Araceli

Araceli Gallardo Ibarra was born in the city of Guasave, Sinaloa on 20 November 1972. She completed primary and secondary school. Her first symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis emerged when she was 13 years old. As a result of this disease she was no longer able to continue her education because she was constantly receiving medical treatment and spending protracted periods at the rehabilitation centre. She already had severely deformed hands by the age of 18. One day, when she had a hospital appointment, she met Víctor Bojorquez, the husband of the mouth painter Lidia de Jesús Cháidez López (a VDMFK Student Member and painting teacher). Consequently, Araceli was invited to her first lessons in mouth painting. In the process she became fascinated by the idea of taking up mouth painting herself because she had always enjoyed painting when she was still able to use her hands. From January 2012 she regularly attended painting classes held by Lidia de Jesús Cháidez Lopez. Delighted by the experience of mouth painting, she was able to make great progress within a short time.