Girón, José Andrés: - José Andrés Girón has been dedicated to art since early childhood. From his father's side, his New Mexican roots can be traced to the first settlers on the Rio Grande. From his mother's side to early Hispanic Arizonians and old Mexico's rich cultural history. As a young boy, he spent the summer in New Mexico on his grandfather's ranch.Family and culture have influenced his choice of subject matter in deciding what is important to express in his art. His work almost always depicts the positive and beautiful things in the Hispanic/Latino culture."Andrés," as he likes to call himself, was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and lived by the airport, close to the Golden Gate Barrio.He served as an altar boy at Sacred Heart Church with Father Albert Braun, a famous Franciscan Father and highly decorated Army Chaplain in both World War I and II and who influenced many lives, including his own.Just out of High School, he joined the Army, found himself deployed to Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division, and experienced the war firsthand.He received the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device for heroism in actions against a hostile force. He also received the "Purple Heart" for gunshot wounds received in action. While recuperating in the hospital, drawing became as natural as breathing. He then made a promise to himself that if he was to survive this war, he would make a solid commitment to becoming an artist.Using his G.I. benefits, he attended Art School at the Hollywood Art Center in California, Phoenix College, and ASU in Arizona, where he majored in Arts Education.Working with other artists, he soon began showing at parks, community events, or wherever an audience existed. He was a founding member of MARS and ARIZTLAN, which started a Latino Arts movement in the late seventies and early eighties in Phoenix, Arizona.