Omar Monroy is an award winning trans nonbinary Oaxaqueña immigrant artist of Ñuu'savi descent. They use El Techichi as a creative medium to honor their heritage and craft unique jewelry. By blending traditional and contemporary materials, they draw inspiration from Mexico's rich ecosystems and Ñuu'savi artistry, infusing their creations with a distinctive NYC flair.
Born in Iztapalapa, Mexico, and raised on Ñuu'savi land in La Ciudad Heroica Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Omar was brought to the U.S. by their mother in 1999 to Ontario, California, which resides on Kizh land.
El Techichi is a love letter to a young brown child who used to play with makeshift cars made from Mary Kay boxes, who roamed a little river downhill from their house, and who saw lightning dragons in the skies. Their flair for the dramatic and their creativity come from the femme people in their life. It is also a love letter to Rue the Chihuahua, whose ancient magic was the catalyst for this whole adventure.
Their work has been featured on icon Lily Gladstone and has even appeared in an article in Vogue.
El Techichi Jewelry is created with the intention of being maximalist and gender-neutral. A big belief of mine is that we create opulence and adornment to set a status and to feel closer to our deities. It has nothing to do with gender, so why limit ourselves by gender constructs imposed on us by colonizers?
Today, they call Lenapehoking ( Lower East Side in NYC) home, where they live with their partner, Adam and their beloved Chihuahua Rue.
Omar is one of the 2024 Here we are award winners for rising Entrepreneurs
What was a Techichi?
The Techichi or Tlachichi is believed to be one the ancestors of the chihuahua, which is one of two Indigenous dog breeds in Mexico.
Believed to be bred as a companion to the Tolteca people, they were believed to be sacred, and just like the Xoloitzcuintli would guide their owners in the after life.
Why El Techichi?
One day I learned that Chihuahuas and Pitbulls are the most euthanized dog breeds in the US, which just broke my heart. This made me think about how we see these animals portrayed in media and how we are taught to think less of them because of their temperaments, and that resonated with me on a deeper level. It made me think about why a lot of us learn self-hate and learn to live with internalized racism. It forced me to take a deeper look at myself and how I am portrayed in media and in the design community.
It was after I adopted my Chihuahua that I began to yearn for reconnection with my culture. Rue the Chihuahua is my sacred Chichi, because I feel like she came into my life to guide me on this journey. So I thought why not pay homage to her and her ancestor by having everyone know who they were?
Her ancestral magic has made me feel so proud to be who I am, its the least i can do!
Techichi en el Museo Nacional de Antropología, Ciudad de Mexico
How we source materials.
From the beginning of my jewelry journey, I had been obsessed with vintage costume and handmade jewelry. I frequent thrift stores and flea markets and notice the piles of old jewelry components that have been saved from warehouses and broken necklaces. I thought to myself "this is how I can do my part," I decided to buy some old jewelry take it apart and make something new and unique out of it.
I buy dead stock stones and beads, materials people who no longer make jewelry are trying to get rid of. Some buy so much of one material and then stop making jewelry, so why buy more new items when I can use what has already been taken. If a new material is used, it's bought locally from small shops in the US.
Exhibitions
2024 [Queerphoria]: vol 4 connection New York Jewelry Week
2024 SNAG X QM In Focus 2024 Virtual Exhibition
2024 [queerphoria] volume 3: transformation
2023 [queerphoria]: Adorned Serenity (New York Jewelry Week)