Luis Murillo Ordaz: Art That Blooms in Wax and Feathers

In the small and proud municipality of Purépero, nestled in northern Michoacán, lives and creates one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Mexican folk art: Luis Murillo Ordaz. A master of traditional waxwork and a pioneer of figurative feather art, Luis has fused ancestral techniques with modern sensitivity, giving life to pieces that are at once ritual, ornament, and cultural memory.

Born on March 16, 1989, Luis discovered his artistic vocation early. At just 16 years old, he joined the workshops at the Casa de la Cultura in Purépero, where he began training in waxwork under the guidance of master artisans María Socorro Madrigal Maryinez and José Francisco Alemán Cerda. There, he learned the meticulous craft of working with beeswax—from extraction and bleaching to purification and molding—creating detailed figures of virgins, angels, nativity scenes, and other deeply symbolic religious icons.

In 2014, his creative path took a significant turn when he met master artist María del Rocío Torres Sánchez, who taught him to integrate featherwork into his sculptures. This technique, rooted in pre-Hispanic traditions, involves applying natural feathers with aesthetic precision onto wax forms—reviving a nearly forgotten art and bringing it into a new narrative. Luis has
reimagined this legacy with respect, ecological awareness, and extraordinary visual talent.
His work has been recognized in more than 16 national competitions, including the National Prize at the 21st Mexican Nativity Contest in 2015, where his feathered wax nativity earned him a special distinction and a prize of 100,000 pesos. In 2020, his sculpture of the Virgin Mary,
Help of Christians was honored in the National Great Masters Competition, reaffirming his status as one of Mexico’s leading traditional artists.
In addition to being an artist, Luis is a passionate mentor to new generations. He currently teaches at cultural centers in Tlazazalca, Sahuayo, and Cojumatlán de Régules, where his students have gone on to win both state and national awards—a reflection of the deep impact of his teaching.

Purépero, his hometown, is a community with profound cultural roots, and it embraces Luis as a true ambassador of its identity. His work—marked by devotion, color, and intricate detail— transforms natural materials into living expressions of the Mexican soul.

Luis Murillo Ordaz doesn’t just create art—he creates legacy. His work is a dialogue between past and present, technique and emotion, teaching and creation. In each wax flower and every carefully placed feather lies a story, a tradition kept alive and growing in the hands of a true master.

Feria Maestros del Arte 2025

ARTIST INFORMATION

Taller de Cereria y Arte Plumario Murillo, Vicente Villada #16,

Purépero, Michoacán 58760 artecera89@hotmail.com

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