Iberoamerican Festival of Arts & crafts

De Calderon is a historian at the Interamerican
University, as well as an investigator and curator.

She is the Director of Cultural Promotion for
Citibanamex A.C, with thirty years of experience and is currently focused on the dissemination, defense, and promotion of traditional Mexican artisanry. She has worked as the Editorial Coordinator of various books about the works of the great Mexican popular artists and of the great Iberoamerican masters. She is a speaker at Columbia University.

With a Doctor of Arts, Duque served as the
General Manager of Artisanry of Colombia, where she lent her professional services for 18 years. She is part of a group of experts that wrote and designed, along with Dr. Indrasen
Vencatachellum, the program for the development of artisanry in the world. In 2007, the Ministry of Culture granted her the Medal of Merit and in 2020 she received the Woman Together Prize in New York. She currently works as a consultant in Culture and Development.
She is a speaker at the Museum of the American Indian.

Writer, curator and designer who specialized in
crafts of the world. He is a lecturer and
international consultant. He is the editor of the online magazine Guirnalda and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Crafts of the Asia-Pacific Region and of Latin America. He had previously been president of the World Crafts Council of the
CMI and is currently vice president.

Crespo is an industrial designer. She is a promotion partner of INNOVARTE Consulting (www.innovarte.net), based in Madrid, that provides technical services for the crafts and cultural heritage sectors. For more than 20 years, INNOVARTE has participated in programs and projects in Spain, Latin America and other countries like Morocco, Algeria and India. She works in marketing and communication, design and development of products, and digital transformation, among others.

Ruiz graduated in International Studies and got her postgraduate in Political Science from the University Simon Bolivar, Caracas. She is the founder and director of “Revista Artesanía

y Folklore” which has 90 editions published to date. Since 1975, she has been dedicated to the broadcasting, promotion, and defense of traditional crafts. She has held fairs with the participation of master craftsmen from 30 countries. She is a member of the prize jury for UNESCO. She was a consultant for the Mayor's Office of San Juan, Puerto Rico from 2000 to 2012. She is the general coordinator for the FESTIVAL-ART 2024 in N.Y.

With a masters in art from Sorbonne University,
Vencatachellum is the ex-director of the Art and
Design division of UNESCO where he ran the
program for the development of Artisanry in the
world for 20 years. He is the editor of various specialized books, as well as the co-editor of the Virtual Encyclopedia of Latin American Artisanry.
Vencatachellum is the founder of RIDA (Red
International for the Development of Artisanty) and currently works as an Independent Consultor. He is a speaker at New York University- NYU.

Seminario is a sculptor and ceramist located in
the Valle Sagrado in Cusco, known for creating
unique works, such as the Buho Guardian of
Sabiduría. Many of his artworks can be found in
universities and museums in the United States. In September of 2023, the University of
Arkansas inaugurated a cultural space that carries the name of him and his spouse, Marilu Behar, who specializes in the painting of vases with pre-columbian themes and logos.

Karen helps craft businesses develop marking strategies for exportation in order to increase sales in the U.S. market and improve cost effectiveness. She also works with American brands with ethical sourcing and developing partnerships with artisanal producers. Additionally, she is a co-founder of ByHand Consulting. For more than two decades, Karen has worked to expand the artisan market and grow craft businesses. Her career has included working with non-profit organizations, trade shows, export promotion agencies, international development organizations, and American brands. Her passion is to share her knowledge and connections with entrepreneurs from around the world and advocate for the importance of handmade products.

Cáceres promotes the crafts, music, and dances of Paraguay. She is the founder of the non-profit NGO ARTEPAR. She is the author of several books about the “Poncho Para'i de 60 Listas”, “ARTEPAR Al restace de nuestra cultura", and “Doña Anastasia Cantero romero”. She is the president of Popular Art International IOV, an NGO affiliated with UNESCO.

Cervantes is an administrator with a specialization in logistics management and project formulation. He is the cultural manager of the Carnival of Barranquilla in New York. He has worked for over 10 years with social organizations in Colombia and Mexico, focused on social development and education projects. These projects have allowed him to acquire experience as a cultural manager and researcher of social, political and cultural movements in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is currently a general coordinator of Festival-Crafts 2024 and coordinator of Defactonet New York Projects.