Art Saved My Life: Mode Orozco's Journey from Graffiti to Success

Mode Orozco, a graffiti artist, credits art with saving his life, steering him away from a path of drugs and crime that claimed many of his childhood friends. "I can say with pride that graffiti, art, saved my life," Orozco stated in an interview with EL UNIVERSAL Deportes. He explained that many of his peers from his youth are no longer alive or are entangled in illicit activities.

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I can say with pride that graffiti, art, saved my life, because people I used to hang out with, surrounded myself with, grew up with, many are no longer here, and others are in trouble for having fallen into drugs, into illicit businesses.

Orozco, who has been painting for 30 years, did not have the opportunity for formal education. Instead, he grew up in a chaotic environment and turned his passion for art into a profession. He found inspiration in artists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and particularly Frida Kahlo, admiring her ability to express herself despite her suffering.

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The little I learned about art as a child, as a youth, was through that book, and it spoke of David Alfaro Siqueiros, of José Clemente Orozco, of Diego Rivera... I became very familiar with Frida Kahlo, because of the life she led, in fact, she was a great inspiration for me, despite so much suffering she used it to express herself.

"The little I learned about art as a child, as a youth, was through that book," Orozco recalled, referring to an art book he encountered in his first year of middle school. This early exposure planted a seed that later blossomed into a successful career. Today, his work with aerosols and paint has led him to unexpected places, providing his family with beautiful opportunities and a good quality of life.

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I have been painting for 30 years. I didn't have the opportunity to study, so I grew up in chaos, on the street, and I turned this into my career. Painting and art have taken me to places I never imagined, it has given my family very beautiful opportunities, and above all a good quality of life.