Jaime Arredondo was born in Dallas, Texas to Mexican American Tejano parents. His mother was a direct descendant of the original land granted Spanish families in Texas dating back to the 1600’s. His father was Otomi a large Native American nation originating from Central Mexico. While growing up they filled his imagination with stories of the borderlands and Mexico, of land, of conquest, of love and betrayal, of spirit and of soul.

After graduating from Yale with a MFA in painting, he moved to New York City, and created a course entitled “Of Fire and Blood: Art and Mythology of Mexico” of which he continues to teach at The New School and at NYU.

He has had numerous one man gallery and museum shows in New York City, and in the Southwest, and is the recipient of numerous awards. In 2009 his paintings were published as stamps by the United Nations, and in 2015 he was commissioned to create a permanent art project for the MTA comprised of 36 mosaics of his works, installed at the Zerega Station in the Bronx, and entitled “Garden of Earthly Delight”. In 2019 he created 65 illustrations on the Popol Vuh, the ancient Mayan creation myth of the Universe. In the fall of 2019 they were shown at the Gallatin Gallery at NYU.

In 2018, at The New School, he created and founded MICCI, the Mesoamerican, Indigenous and Caribbean Cultures Initiative. Its opening will finally be announced on December 2, 2020.

He continues to happily work and live in New York City with his wife and daughter.

Leslie Fonseca is a Central American designer and illustrator from Miami, Florida pursuing her undergraduate degree at Parsons School of Design majoring in Communications Design. She explores the concept of womanhood and youth throughout her projects, which mostly consist of editorial and illustration work. As president, she hopes to work alongside members of MICCI to bring important cultural topics into awareness through group efforts, projects, and events. Recognizing and appreciating the diverse student population at The New School had become one of her goals as president, along with creating a welcoming community for all sorts of minorities.

Luci Meyer is a Mexican/American artist from Miami, FL pursuing her BFA in fine arts and museum and curatorial studies at Parsons School of Design. She works primarily in video, performance, installation and sculpture and her work explores themes of identity, race, gender, and labor. As vice president of MICCI, Luci hopes to create a safe space for representation of Latinx, Caribbean and Indigenous individuals and initiate change at The New School as it relates to these individuals.

Sofia Santana Arrezola is a Mexican American designer from Portland, Oregon pursuing a BFA in Communication Design and a minor in Printmaking at Parsons School of Design. With a strong inclination towards editorial design, typography, and book arts, her work focuses on the Mexican American experience and bringing to light the issues that the Latinx, Indigenous, and Caribbean communities face in the United States. Through MICCI, she hopes to help amplify students’ voices and needs, and aid in helping create a supportive community for students of Latinx, Indigenous, and Caribbean backgrounds at The New School.

Mateo Perez is a Mexican/American artist pursuing a BFA in Communication Design at Parsons School of Design. His work is an everlasting exploration of life and the space between time, nature, and the intricacies of human nature.