Tony Armadillo

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Tony Armadillo
Chicano artist
Corpus Christi, Texas

About Mr. Armadillo

Tony Armadillo is a first-generation American, born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the first in his family to attend college. He is an alumnus of Del Mar College and earned a B.A. degree from the University of A & I--Corpus Christi, which was later renamed Texas A&M—Corpus Christi. He married Linda Rodriguez in 1976, and they have two children.

In 1965, he began his teaching experience as a volunteer/teacher’s aide with the inception of the Head Start Program. This experience confirmed his direction in life. He taught Special Education students for twenty years before teaching art at Mary Carroll High school for the next twenty years. As a teacher at Carroll, he was recognized as Teacher of the Year several times and was C.C.I.S.D.’s finalist for the district’s Teacher of the Year. His art students earned art scholarships to M.I.C.A., Chicago Art Institute, Rice, SCAD Savannah, and North Texas State.

He is a member of and has served on the board at the Art Center of Corpus Christi. The Art Center continues to host his community service art awareness exhibit addressing breast cancer titled: “BREAST CANCER: A Student’s Perspective.” Students create original art addressing breast cancer, with many paying tribute to family members, their teachers, and many share their first hand experiences. Some students, now educators, continue to sponsor their own breast cancer events as well. October 2025 will mark its 25th Anniversary.

As a member of K Space Contemporary, he was asked to design an exclusive mural to honor the organization’s founders, artists, and directors. His design—a boy playing a game of marbles narrates the history of K Space—is located on K-Space’s façade. He also created various artworks including, his El Corazon #27 for the first Loteria Mural that kicked off the murals concept for the downtown district. He also has been a part of the summer youth art camps sponsored by K Space.

Armadillo’s art centers on oil painting. His work has been referred to as the Mexican Rockwell / Dali. Subjects include family, cultural, historic, and social events. Fine Art America / Tony Armadillo and antonioartista.com are two sites with his collection.

His paintings have earned him local, state, and national awards. The Mayor of Corpus Christi requested several of his works for her office because they reflect the community. Some of his recent art achievements include being a Semi-Finalist for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, “Sins of My Father Will Never Expire” was awarded First Place in Virginia, and “Deported to Danger and Nobody Gives a Damn” was awarded the Richard Conn Memorial Award at the 94th Juried Artists Exhibition in San Antonio. His work is currently under review and consideration by the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Latino.