Born in El Paso, Texas, the Borderland, I was raised in both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. I experienced and learned two cultures, two languages and two peoples. My home was in a barrio in Cd. Juarez, Mexico but received an education in a middle-class neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. For eighteen years, I commuted every day and spent a third of my life on the international bridge, a link between two worlds. I truly absorbed and can appreciate the best of both worlds. My design is influenced by the solutions-oriented American culture and the vibrant, simple, and ingenious Mexican way of life.