Un poquito sobre Jwlç Julio Mendoza or Jwlç (pronounced like “Jewels”) as he is artistically and affectionately known, is a Denver-based International Artist and Muralist whose style is defined greatly by his Mexican Heritage and Latino culture. It is of utmost importance to him to incorporate his roots from la Madre Patria of Mexico into his art. Because Julio is bi-cultural (Mexico and USA), bilingual and biliterate (English and Spanish) he serves as a link between two worlds, as does his art. In Julio’s words, “I am who I am in most part because of my Mexican and Latino heritage, therefore incorporating my heritage into my art is meaningful to me and I feel it’s meaningful to those that can relate to that sentiment as well”. For Julio it is the greatest gift to be inspired by one’s own traditions, food, people and colors. He feels blessed to be able to put such inspirations into art pieces and to be able to invoke inspiration in others. His goal is to keep his culture’s traditions alive for generations to come through the celebration and preservation of them. Much of his work celebrates the colors of and venerates the iconic and mythical figures of his youth spent in Mexico. Julio is a master at creating large scale murals and has completed several around the Denver Metropolitan area, around Colorado and in Mexico. Julio has had local and international collaborations with municipalities, non-profit organizations, for profit organizations, and schools and educators. Julio has collaborated with well-celebrated international artists as well as with local school children on projects. Especially of note, in 2020, Julio collaborated on pieces at the largest dia de los muertos altar in the country and was invited as a guest artist by an arts collective to complete a mural as a gift to an elementary school in San Jeronimo, Mexico. As a socially-aware and emotionally intelligent person, Julio aims to use his art to be a voice for those who are underrepresented and to help them find equity in the world. Julio Mendoza was born in El Paso, Texas , and was raised in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico until he was 11 years old. At the age of 11, his family moved to Denver, Colorado. He has spent the majority of his years living in the Westwood area of Denver since then. It was in his neighborhood of Westwood, where he painted his first mural. Julio feels a tremendous sense of gratitude toward his roots in Westwood and has grown artistically thanks to the support of the community there. Julio discovered his love of visual art in elementary school where he was inspired by the art forms of anime and graffiti. He was inspired to enroll in art classes throughout his middle school and high school careers. Through those classes, Julio’s interest in art grew but he didn’t see himself as “an Artist”, but as someone with a hobby. When Julio began his college career at The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, he began as an Arts Major, but feeling discouraged by those who said “art would be a difficult career choice”, he ended up choosing a different major, Criminal Justice, which felt to him like the safer choice. After graduating, Julio pursued a career in Criminal Justice for 3 years. But Julio knew his life was missing something and he knew that was his passion for art. That was when Julio made the decision to pursue his passion and dream to be an artist full time. Due to Julio’s firsthand experience with being discouraged by naysayers, he hopes to serve as an inspiration to those who have a passion in arts but can’t find the support or inspiration to pursue their passion and encourage them not give up on their dreams and goals.
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