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GONZO247 Highlight
Mario E. Figueroa, Jr. (GONZO247)
Multidisciplinary Artist
Don’t be afraid to be who you are. You don’t have to have anyone’s permission to be who you want to be.
About Mario E.
- I was born and raised in Houston, Texas.
- I grew up admiring Leo Tanguma’s mural “The Rebirth of Our Nationality” and knew that I wanted to do something similar one day.
- When rap, hip-hop culture, and graffiti made its way to Houston, I finally felt like there was a space where I belonged.
- I started researching through art magazines from the library to learn more about graffiti.
- The first time I used spray paint as an art tool, I felt instantly gratified and was immediately hooked.
- When I graduated high school, I decided to stay in Houston and help usher in the graffiti and street art movement here rather than move away to a city where the industry was already saturated.
- I had been tagging my real name on my art and quickly realized I didn’t want to do that anymore—I came across the word “gonzo” in the dictionary and started using that.
- Driven by my passion, I continued to express and develop my art, and I’m now seeing the rewards of that.
