NACHO’S STORY

The Bride + Groom
Written By Theresa Montiel
Nacho.jpg

QUICK DEETS ABOUT NACHO

  • She is the bride

  • Lives in Philadelphia, PA — coming to CHICAGO soon

  • Professor of Art + Design @Univeristy of the Arts

  • Left-leaning politically

  • Spiritual, but not woo-woo

  • She has a fabulous fiancé, Patrick

  • Ask me anything about rollerskating

LEARN ALL ABOUT NACHO

NACHO? 
The first question I am often asked when introducing myself is… ”Nacho? That isn’t your REAL name, is it?” No, my mom didn’t name me after a Mexican Appetizer.  Although I was almost named “Phyllis Guadalupe” + could have been the youngest 80 year old ALIVE, but my mother decided to name me “Theresa Marie” instead.

But the story of “Nacho” is, I found roller derby in my mid-20’s + took the pseudonym “Nacho Girlfriend” — like “I am not your girlfriend, I am here to hurt you.” So at first, “Nacho” started out as a nickname that only my social circle called me. But in 2006, when I decided to start my own freelance design firm, I worried about being just ‘Theresa Montiel Designs’ or ‘TM Designs,’ so I coined by business name as “Nacho Momma’s Designs,” (because “YER MOM’S designs are terrible” + why not have whimsy bleed into my profession?). So after having the same nickname + business name for over a decade, family, clients, coworkers, + even Patrick refers to me as “Nacho.” 

COMMERCIAL ART TURNING INTO COMMUNITY ART
I was formally educated as a Painter + Illustrator, + fell into a career as an art director by accident. I needed a job after undergrad, + graphic design was a professional path that utilized my creative abilities. But, after 15 years in the corporate, in-house, + freelance platforms, I was pulled to do “something more” with my career. After some soul searching, I started looking at masters programs in Art Education. In my research, I found the Community-focused Art Education programs (called “Community Arts”) -- all with tracks that paired art education with liberatory pedagogy and/or social justice. I could not un-ring the bell. I saw Community Arts as a culmination of all my goals, interest, passions, + credos -- so I changed the momentum of my life + decided to apply to grad school. I applied to Carnegie Melon, Pratt, + Maryland Institute College of Art. It was only days later + MICA was calling me — offering me a spot in the next fall’s cohort + partial scholarship. As my mother says, “my path was paved to Baltimore.”

TO ME, PEDAGOGICALLY (what I think about teaching):
Art inspires people, by creating alternative visions for the future. In some cases, it can elicit new action. Art creates the biggest social change through exciting our autonomy + imagination. I believe I am a poster child for this power of art. I am a first-generation college graduate coming from a poor blue collar + agricultural family whose bulk members never made it to or past High School, but I developed my agency through my artistic practice. This led me to college, a career as an graphic designer, + (HOPEFULLY) to a promising future as a dialogue-minded art educator. 

NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS... 
But moving to Baltimore was tough. I sold the majority of my belongings (to help finance the move) + I uprooted my life. I didn’t even have a set place to live those two years — I actually moved 4 times during my academic program — but I was determined to get all that I could out of MICA + Baltimore. So I made friends with my coworkers + cohort, I went to art galleries + concerts, + made a profile on an online dating site — just to meet new people + have an excuse to go out. But with graduate school my primary focus + goal, I never FATHOMED to meet the love of my life (SPOILER ALERT: but I did!).

I liked Patrick right away because he actually READ my profile + asked me something specific about it. His first message was asking me if I had seen "The Eyes of My Mother," (2016) telling me it was a movie that was still wracking around in his brain after watching. I let him know I hadn’t seen it, but Sleepaway Camp" (1983) was the FIRST horror movie I ever seen + it still fuels some of my nightmares (oddly) as an adult. I think this gave us both a laugh + we started messaging back + forth. Emails turned into texts, + texts turned into phone calls. We quickly made a date plan of some of our favorite things — Indian Food + Otto Bar Concerts.

I knew within a few weeks, I was done. Patrick was the best human I have ever met — he is brilliant both intellectually + musically, but he never brags about either. He is also wonderfully funny — he can both make fun of himself or others with just a silly face or voice. He also has a STEEL TRAP of a memory for names, events, songs, — he would be a great person to take with you on a Trivia Night. He is also amazingly considerate + attentive — the man can “read” the difference between my sighs (and will ask me “what’s wrong” for a “sad sounding sigh”). This also a man who REGULARLY picks up trash he comes across on the street + puts in the can (Insert explosion sound here - MIND BLOWN!). It didn’t hurt he was a hella cute, tall drink of water. I really don’t know how I was so lucky to have been found by him….I thank the Gods everyday that I have. I cannot WAIT to be his wife.

I HATE THE DISTANCE
In the last semester of my masters program at MICA I was nominated + accepted for the AICAD post-graduate teaching fellowship, accepting a position at University of the Arts in Philadelphia that April. At UArts, while Patrick found out a few months later that he landed his position in Chicago. We agreed we had to pursue the opportunities given to us, knowing that long distance would be hard…but we were engaged + we knew we were going to stay together.

Not seeing Patrick every day after being with him on the daily for a year was WAY HARDER than I ever expected. But I am trying to use my fellowship to hone digital design curriculums which emphasize the hybridity of digital design + digital fabrication in the context of the budding Freshman Year Experience program at UArts. And I am excited to have the opportunity to put my education + diverse experiences to work in this arena, but we both aspire to be in the same city again so we can start again. We mutually applied to colleges + universities in each other’s city — with me throwing my hat in for consideration at Columbia College + School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) — I ain’t gonna be CHI (shy), ya’ll! I need you to cross your fingers, I need you to light a candle or whatever you do for good luck because I need ALL your good thoughts + prayers! [Nacho] Momma wants to be with her man!

IN MY FREE TIME…
When not teaching, designing, (or working on this wedding,) I enjoy horror movies, art museums, rollerskating, + LOVE traveling back to Arizona to see all my bio + chosen famlia. I buy most of my fashion from second-hand stores + have (more often than not) unnaturally colored hair — my head has been the rainbow. I love everything Halloween, LIVE for puns (cuzzz Nacho is the CHEESIEST), + appreciate all things kitsch… also I am an ENFJ. I recently picked my laptop back up + dove back into my freelance design business, so if you need something branded or designed let me know, [Nacho] Momma needs to help finance this here weddin.’

NachoMommasDesigns.com

 
 

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