Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo

Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo (1923-2000) was a Mexican artist, graphic designer and artisan best known for his series of Christmas cards produced for UNICEF in the 1960s, as well as known in Mexico for his furniture designs and promotion of traditional handcrafts. Rangel lived and worked during his life at his childhood home called Nogueras Hacienda. When he died, he donated the property and his large collection of Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition ceramics to University of Colima, which converted into a research center, which includes a museum dedicated to Rangel’s works and collections.

Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo was born in 1923, living and working most of his life at his family’s property called the Nogueras Hacienda in Comala, Colima, Mexico. Rangel was the eldest of three sons, who grandfather acquired the hacienda, converting it to producing sugar cane and processed sugar.

However, the economy and the sugar cane mill collapsed after the Mexican Revolution, and Rangel’s parents did not have the money to send him or his brothers to school. The boys were homeschooled, being taught to read and then subscribing to many magazines devoted to culture and mechanics. Father and sons learned metalworking skills to keep the hacienda running and worked with carpenters to make and repair furniture. The family also set up a store selling toys and other objects created by family, often painted by Alejandro. At the age of six, he announced that he would be a painter.

Later, Alejandro was able to attend middle and preparatory school in Guadalajara. After graduation, he spent time in the workshops of architects Ignacio Díaz Morales and Luis Barragán. In 1947, Rangel won a prize with a scholarship for the illustrations he made for the book Pedro Páramo, written by his friend Juan Rulfo. The scholarship allowed Rangel to travel in Europe for two years, where he worked as a scene illustrator for ballets and operas. When he returned to Mexico, he continued to illustrate books.

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