(Chihuahua: Horizons of its History and Culture)

Coordinator: Jesús Vargas Valdéz

Paulo Eduardo Medina found his calling for art while still in elementary school in the city of Delicias, Chihuahua, where he was born on February 18, 1964, and spent his childhood. Later, in 1982, a pivotal stage in his later life, he decided to pursue his other vocation: the priesthood. Now he pursues both vocations with equal vigor and has found that both converge in a common pursuit: that of achieving spiritual harmony.

The then Archbishop of Chihuahua, Monsignor Adalberto Almeida y Merino, always supported the concerns of the young seminarian and made him see that the Church was not at odds with art, but on the contrary, historically had always been a promoter of artists and their works, so Paulo continued painting while studying for an ecclesiastical career, so that his first solo exhibition was shown to the public just two months after he had received priestly ordination.

In the fall of 1994, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he spent three years pursuing a degree in Ecclesiastical History at the Pontifical Gregorian University. His personal preferences led him to take specialized courses in the history of religious art. Paulo prefers non-figurative expression. His works, for the most part, are abstract in nature, because he has found this to be the best way to internalize and enter into dialogue with the painting.

As a priest, he feels the need to receive light and transmit it so that people may become more fully realized beings. His most important solo exhibitions are: "20 Collages," Teatro de los Héroes, Chihuahua, 1991; "20 Collages," Casa de la Cultura, Parral, Chihuahua, 2000; "Horizontes," Centro Cultural Universitario Quinta Gameros, Chihuahua, 2001; "Trevas luminosas," Centro Cultural Chihuahua, 2002; "Kénosis," Municipal Media Library of Chihuahua, 2003; "Corpus et anima", Museo Casa Siglo XIX, Chihuahua, 2004; and "Labyrinthi", Teatro de la Ciudad, Delicias, Chihuahua.

Regina Navarro Dücker