FABIOLA JUAREZ! FABI! LA MERA MERA FRIJOLERA. LA REINA DE ALLENDE. BROOLYN POWERHOUSE.

12/20/25

AAAAHHH shit, here we go again. It’s ya boy with another shitty writing piece. I was taken aback with the amount of support I received from my first blog post. I had over 150 page views and people telling me in person how moved they were by my writing. My friend Donnie Waters who is a master of the English language told me some writers spend their whole careers trying to find their voice and that I already had mine! ME?! lol. He explained sometimes knowing all the rules holds people back from letting it flow. I resonated with that statement because that is how I feel about drawing. I don’t have formal training so I just make shit up. I also see it in cooking, I am classically trained and know all the “rules” but feel restrained behind the stove. On the other hand I watch my wife who has no formal training and cooks like she is anointed by God himself. Long story short story FUCK rules.

CONTEXTO

Way back in November Fabi slid in my DM’s requesting my services. I was happy to hear from her due to our prior work experience with her family restaurant in Bay Ridge called Coszcal de Allende. She is a pretty low maintenance client who has a clear vision of what she wants so I was happy to help. I also heard great things about Frijoleros which I haven’t had the chance to visit. Living in Manhattan kind of keeps in you in a bubble and traveling to Brooklyn felt like a trek. She basically signed me for a three flyer deal for upcoming events she was hosting in her space. The first pop up was with the CDC (chef de cuisine) of the highly successful one Michelin starred Corima to promote his bar in Guadalajara. The second was with the chef of Nois, a fancy restaurant in Oaxaca doing sexy Mexican food. The third event was with the Atla Boys aka Opalo who are a pair of chefs that have been making noise in the NYC Mexican dining scene. I was stoked! This was a beautiful opportunity to lean into my roots and do some dope Mexican inspired illustration for experiences that enrich and elevate the culture. But working with chefs isn’t always an easy task, that’s three different personalities, backgrounds, and visions. I knew I had my work cut out for me.

HISTORY

I met Fabiola back in 2018 at a Oaxacan restaurant called Claro. This was back when I was fresh to the city and just stared dating my wife. My wife was tapped in, she knew everyone, and loved to eat and drink herself. I was enamored by the way she navigated this network and I wanted in. We sat at a corner bar seat right in front of Fabi’s well. Fabiola was charming, tatted and tall. She greeted us with shots of mezcal, talked us through the menu and got us drunk. The lore behind her started to unravel slowly. I heard she was a beast in the kitchen, with both savory and pastry. She was also doing the speed rack thing and was winning all kinds of competitions. The next time I saw Fabiola was a few years later when she started at Crown Shy behind the bar. I had never seen someone integrate into a team so seamlessly and she went from being the new girl to the life of the party instantly. She is an absolute pro behind the bar, is well spoken and has confidence dripping out of her ears. Some of my fondest memories are from when she started the Crown Shy basketball club. We played for a few weeks and she would whoop our asses on the court. That was a short lived club due to Ryan Sullivan hurting his hand which caused him to miss out on like 3 months of work. LOL. Long story long Fabi is dominant! She takes what she wants with a smile on her face.

RENGO

Batter up. This first flyer was due like 8 days before the event. I was already slammed with a bunch of other projects and I was deep in the shits. The theme of the event was a traditional Mexican posada with an illustration of a piñata. The pressure was mounting cause I already had them asking two days in when it would be ready. I was like damn girl, give me a second. That night I sat down and banged out two piñata drawings. One on brown paper and the other on black. I hated my first piñata it wasn’t that cute and just felt too manufactured. The second one was cool but it didn’t lend itself well to digital manipulation, which is half the job. So I sat down the next day to do a pen and ink illustration. I got the bright idea to pay homage to a famous Mexican illustrator who shares the last name with the event they were hosting. I ripped off one of calavera men but put a jug of ponche in his hand and had him carrying a peculiar looking pinata. This illustration came naturally to me and felt more like art. Not gonna lie I struggled a bit with the digital aspect of this job. The Rengo team had a clear vision of what they wanted it to look like. They loved the illustration but I couldn’t quite nail the text. Someone on their team took the liberty to throw text on my illustration and call it a day. I felt cucked but had to take a step back and remind myself that client satisfaction is the goal. If they are happy so am I. Job one COMPLETE. PAYMENT RECEIVED. LETS GO.

NOIS

This one was especially exciting. My first job in NYC was as a line cook at Enrique Olvera’s Cosme. The cuisine is heavily inspired by Oaxacan Cuisine. So naturally I was overjoyed to pay homage to a style of cuisine that has such a special place in my heart. After a deep dive on the Chef’s instagram and the restaurants insta I was stuck. Nothing stood out for me to latch onto. I begin a drawing of ingredients of mole negro but it felt forced. I scrapped it and did a little research on corn and precolonial Mexico. The goddess Chicomecóatl stood out to me. She is the aztec goddess of corn, sustenance and agriculture. I loved that she was a woman and Frijoleros being woman led naturally I felt the click. I wanted to express her feminine power not as weakness but as strength! This goddess held the welfare of the people in the palm of her hands. I also loved how she was referred to as the seven serpent, I am drawn to pre-hispanic Mexico honoring serpents as gods. As an artist I feel it is important to challenge peoples perception of good and evil. I am a God fearing man, but I do feel that Christianity was used as a tool to dismantle and undermine the beliefs of the people. I found two references and blended the concept together with my style. I sent Fabi a sketch and they loved it! The chef already had a mole on the menu honoring this goddess. It was divine, 100% meant to be! I felt so fulfilled finishing this project. I knew I snapped on the illustration and used my own hand writing as the text. The prior experience with Rengo put things into perspective. The clients don’t come to me for some graphic design bullshit, they want art!

OPALO BOYZ

I had already heard of these guys through the grapevine. I worked with this dude Steven at Crown who was room mates with one of them (Jose). The other dude John I had seen around and knew he knew my boy Milton, so I was stoked to hear Fabi was hosting them. From what I heard they do great things at ATLA and I was excited to see what we came up with. The timing wasn’t great for me. I was on vacation back in Cali celebrating my sister’s graduation from nursing school. I was having a hard time working out there due to the celebrating. But we got a lil group chat together and the ball was rolling. I didn’t get started on the design until I was in the airport on my way back to NY. The guys didn’t give me much to work with so I figured I'd just do my thing. I redrew their logo which is three chiles secos using pastels. It looked aight, nothing crazy. As I was about to board it came to me, these chefs aren’t like the others. They are New York based so they needed that NY flavor. I had the idea of blending New York iconagraphy with some elements of Mexican cuisine in the shape of the letter O. I sketched it out on the airplane and it was fire. When I got home I was exhausted from traveling but forced myself to ink that hoe down and get it colorized. The pressure was on, we were like 8 days out from the event and I had Fabi asking me for updates. I quickly finished it and gave them a few options to choose from. Admittedly, I do not think the team loved it as much as I did. I very much did my thing and stood on my business. But the drawing was strong, the post was made and the rest is history. The event is this coming Sunday and will be the first of the three I will be attending. Super excited to try these young up and coming chefs’ food and spend time with my family. I also really admire their creative direction, they have a strong sense of self and have a story to tell. Greatness is on the horizon.

Wrap it up

Man, I’m so happy this deal is done. It was exciting, emotional and beautiful. I learned so much and felt like the pressure made me better. Thank you so much to Fabiola for having me on this. I am honored people like what I do and are willing to have my art represent what they do. The story isn’t over. Fabiola is a powerhouse and probably won’t stop until she has the whole city wrapped around her finger. Thanks for reading<3