Daniel DeSiga

As a young child, Daniel DeSiga knew that drawing and painting would
play an important role in his life. He recalls how his artistic talent
gained him acceptance in his school, where he was the only immigrant
child: "I was the only dark child in the whole school and I had this
ability to paint, and they loved my work." He was born and raised in
Walla Walla, the child of migrant farm workers. As a child he worked
in the fields to help his family and the experiences of those early years have been the basis for much of his artwork.

He graduated with a Bachelor of
Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in the mid 1970's,
a time when the Chicano movement was in full flower across the nation.
Like other Chicano artists of that time, his work focused on the
plight of Mexican farm workers in America and pride in Mexican and
Chicano culture, often expressed in murals or posters which could be
widely seen by the public. (Murals also have a long and honorable
history in Mexican art. Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo are widely recognized as masters of the art.)

He painted his "First Mural Ever" on his bedroom wall in 1967 and is best know for his murals today. So far he has painted about 20: at El Centro de la Raza in Seattle; at the locks in Ballard; Seagulls Fly in the Sky in Rainier Valley; The Olympic Mountains in Lynnwood; and in many government offices around the state. One of his most recent murals is El Sarape completed in 2001 for the City of Toppenish.

Toppenish has about 60 murals painted on its public buildings and has received international recognition as an "outdoor gallery". DeSiga's mural (15 x 100 feet) pays tribute to the generation of young Mexican laborers (braceros) who began arriving in Toppenish in 1942. When most American farmworkers were taken away to fight the war, Mexican laborers came in to fill the void, saving the crops and ensuring the food supply. Following the war, many of thebraceros stayed in the community.

DeSiga has received wide recognition for his work which has been exhibited in major museums across the country, is held in public and private collections and has been reproduced in many books. He has also produced costumes for plays. He currently lives and works in Yakima.