Reyna Esther García Mendoza is a red clay artisan born in San Antonino Castillo Velasco, the eldest daughter of master artisans José García and Teresita Mendoza. She grew up close to clay: her father, one of the great masters of Mexican folk art, inspired her early on to shape mermaids, women in traditional dress, animals, and other clay figures. That connection deepened when he lost his sight, and she began helping him add the small details to his mermaids. By 15, working with clay had become her livelihood. Today, she and her children continue creating mermaids and adorned women, drawn to the way the sea shows up in everyday life. As she puts it: "I make mermaids to tell common stories with a marine soul; art unites the real with the imaginary."