David Tineo

His father separated from the family in 1969[1] after which Ernestina sold tamales, cleaned homes, took in ironing, and worked various housekeeping jobs to raise her seven children while simultaneously learning English.

During the summer between high school and college he’d become involved with the newly constructed El Rio Neighborhood Center, where he’d met and befriended Antonio Pazos, an older, more experienced artist and former member of the San Diego Chicano activist/muralist group Toltecas de Aztlan.

[1][6] In the fall of 1976 Tineo joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the S3 (Military) Operations Unit of the 3rd Infantry Division stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany, where he was promoted to the rank of specialist and his skills applied to cartography and the production of presentation materials to upper-level officers.

[5] Tineo helped lead the development of the Chicano Mural Movement both in Arizona and Tucson during the latter half of the 20th century, and remains an important part of the city's visual history.

Because tensions were high during this multi-year strike –- at one point the National Guard was called in, as well as a virtual army of state policemen backed up by tanks and helicopters -– the event drew international media coverage, and Tineo's mural has frequently been used as a visual representation of the pivotal point in U.S. history when the power of America's unions began to decline.

[12] Tineo's 10’ x 40’ mural still graces the inner north wall of the former Steelworkers Union Hall in Clifton, and the image has been used on banners, posters and signs to commemorate the episode.

[16] To honor the quality and extent of his career the Tucson Pima Arts Council presented Tineo with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Because he often sees only glare, and cannot make out light, shadow or different shades of color, Tineo has explored numerous techniques for replacing his dependence on vision.

[18] He usually lays his canvases on the ground and outlines concepts with caulks and silicon adhesives, achieving more subtle textures with a wet sponge, before applying paints.

[4] Though no definitive diagnosis can as yet be made, ophthalmologists agree that his condition cannot be halted, cured or reversed without the intervention of as-yet-unknown developments in medical science.

His brain receives this jumble of information and transforms it into visual hints coupled with memory that he has learned to assemble—like the pieces of a mosaic—into some semblance of vision.