Garcia, Gabriel, 1976-

In the mid-1980s, Gabriel E. Garcia (b 1976) was a grade schooler when his family relocated to Las Vegas from southern California. As so many others, his parents embraced the construction boom as harbinger of work opportunity. For young Gabe, it was all about going to school and making new friends. Within a couple of years, he was experiencing a Sixth Grade Center, part of Clark County School District’s plan to desegregate local schools. For his situation, riding the bus resulted in fewer hours that his parents worried about his wellbeing.

When it comes to the sundry of Latinx identifiers, Gabe finds attachment to many and points out that for him it depends on where he is or who he is with. At the end of the day, he calls himself a Tex-Mex, son of a Texan father and Mexican mother, though he also relates to Chicano.

When it comes to his passion for his career as a graphic artist, Gabe describes his arts preferences as simple and clean. He is grateful for the nurturing encouragement as his artistic talents bloomed from the sketching of cars as a young boy to the creative collaborations of working with a creative design at MGM International and team leadership at Caesars Entertainment. More recently, his focus is on Sunday Slacker, which he owns and is “a designer, publisher, builder, and creative thinker.”

Gabe also serves as an inspiration to others through his volunteerism and mentorship. He is one of the early leaders of ALPFA (American Latino Professionals for America), a board member of the Las Vegas chapter of AIGA, (American Institute of Graphic Arts), a frequent judge at art and design events, and a collector of cars, including low-riders. And that’s just for starters.