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Excerpts from Abe Peña's  popular publications

All material used with the kind permission of the author, given to me personally.

from VILLAGERS

"Cecilio Sánchez—Artist From San Rafael

The round stained glass window above the altar in the Catholic Church in San Rafael is the work of the talented artist Cecilio Sánchez. This fine piece of art shrouds the classic white altar in soft variegated light.

Cecilio, the son of Cecilio Sánchez, Sr. and Juanita Torres Sánchez, was born and raised in Albuquerque. He attended Sacred Heart Elementary and graduated from Saint Mary's, a fine Jesuit high school in the Duke City. He enlisted in the Army and served in an infantry unit and later in an airborne regimental team during the Korean War. After he was discharged, he married the beautiful Vina Chávez.

The marriage was blessed with three sons and two daughters, Chris, Don, Steve, Elisa, and Deanna. Vina says, “We're further blessed by seven grandchildren, and they're all very special.” With tongue in cheek, she adds, “Had we known they were so much fun, we would have had them first!”

After his tour of duty in the Army, he went to work as a designer and illustrator at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. While working full-time at Sandia, he enrolled at the University of New Mexico and later transferred to the University of Albuquerque, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1968. He has always been a self-starter, and started “C. Sánchez Art Illustrations,” specializing in commercial advertising, while working full time and attending the University of Albuquerque.

Like many New Mexicans, he has a ranching background and loves horses and the great outdoors. To this day, Cecilio prefers to wear Levis, a cowboy hat, and boots, and has a splendid collection of Bolo ties. He playfully says, “I wear a hat to cover (la pelada) my bald head!”

In 1971, he was employed as a design engineer by Gulf Mineral Resources at the Mount Taylor uranium mine near San Mateo. The same year, they moved from Albuquerque to San Rafael, where they purchased several acres of land south of the village and built their new home. Later, the mine was purchased by Chevron Mineral Resources, where he continued to work as a design engineer until his retirement.

Since his retirement, he has opened Cecilio's Southwest Originals, specializing in the creative arts: southwest paintings, original greeting cards, and stained glass works. Also welded metal, and metal and wood Santos are handcrafted in the Southwest/New Mexico style.

He has displayed and exhibited across the United States, including the New York World's Fair. He has had several one-man shows in Japan, and has illustrated numerous books and magazines. The second edition of “Prayer Plumes” with his illustrations was shown at the Brussels World's Fair in Belgium.

His paintings are in several private collections, and have appeared on the cover of a national magazine. He is currently represented at the Double Six Gallery in Grants, New Mexico. You will also find him at his studio on Highway 53 in the south end of the village of San Rafael. Look for the Cecilio's Southwest Originals sign near a tall cottonwood on the east side of the road.

Cecilio is very community-minded and has served on the board of directors of La Case San José for unwed mothers, the board of the Lava Soil & Water Conservation Association, the board of the Cíbola Arts Council, and the San Rafael Catholic Church, and is a volunteer in several other organizations.

Sometime ago, I overheard a friend say, “Wherever there's a job to be done, there you'll find Cecilio.”

Cecilio and his family have been, and continue to be, an asset to the village of San Rafael, to Cíbola County, to the state of New Mexico, and to America at large.”