Abelardo Cruz Santiago was born in 1983 in indigenous Oaxaca, he has lived multiple lives. His life started off as a goat herder in his small town of San Juan Mixtepec.

At the age of seven he and his mother emigrated to California for another life where he studied California linguistics and worked his summers in the luscious vineyards of wine country. After getting his Bachelors of Fine Arts, Cruz Santiago moved to New York City where he currently lives and works as an artist constantly studying social dynamics through language.  @cancionmixteca