GIOVANNI MELCHOR RAMOS
THREE-TIME RECIPIENT OF HONORABLE MENTION
IN FOFA’S YOUNG ARTISTS’ CONTESTS
PAINTS MURAL IN ITALY
Giovanni Melchor Ramos -- recipient of honorable mention in decorative painting of woodcarving in FOFA-MEAPO competitions for young artists in 2013, 2016 and 2018 – is a woodcarver from San Martín Tilcajete who decoratively paints his own pieces, while also being a canvas painter and a draftsman.
2013 FOFA-MEAPO winning piece “I Will Tell You My Story”
2016 FOFA-MEAPO winning piece ”Three Generations”
2018 FOFA-MEAPO winning piece “Divine Strength”
But it was as a muralist that he was invited to Italy to participate in the Festival of Murals that commemorated a social cause: elimination of violence against women.
Completed Mural
The event was sponsored by several municipalities in northern Italy in conjunction with the organization “Save Pop Art,” coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, 2021. Nine artists from Mexico participated in the project, four men and five women, of whom three were from Oaxaca.
Travel Group
Participating muralists generously donated their talents and time to the project. The organizers of the event paid all their expenses in Italy. However, the artists had to fund their own international transportation. The village of Cavasso Nuovo organized an exhibition and sale in the local castle to help artists with travel expenses, at which Giovanni sold several paintings. In addition, several members of the FOFA community contributed to make his trip possible.
Giovanni Working
Giovanni Painting
Each participant completed a mural in one of seven small towns in Northern Italy. Giovanni was assigned to paint his mural in the town of Zoppola, near the Austrian border. It honors two national female athletes from the community: Giada Rossi, a paraplegic Ping-Pong medalist in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games, and Alice Guizzo, selected for the national soccer team.
Giada Rossi
Alice Guizzo
The visit was a great learning experience for Giovanni who was very satisfied with the finished mural, especially when he watched the women he painted react to his completed work.
Giovanni with Giada
Alice and Giada
The talents of Oaxaca’s young artists are boundless as this story about Giovanni attests. We are proud to know him and to have contributed to and watched his development over many years. He has taken full advantage of the workshops FOFA offered after each of the young artist competitions in which he participated and was recognized with an honorable mention.
Please consider supporting FOFA's ongoing efforts to enable talented young Oaxacan folk artists to achieve their dreams and maintain sustainable livelihoods.

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