Passionate about urban art, everyday aesthetics, and ideas that transform spaces.

I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, in Colonia Americana, a neighborhood that, without me knowing it, shaped my visual education from the very beginning.

I studied Marketing at the University of Guadalajara, but my true education came from the streets, from concerts, photography, public spaces, conversations, and silences.

From a young age, I felt deeply connected to aesthetics and symbolism. A film like Run Lola Run was a turning point for me; it blew my mind. I didn’t yet know that what I was feeling had a name, but I understood that art could be everywhere: in the editing, the music, the framing, the raw performance by Franka Potente, and in that electric version of Berlin, a city that remains one of my favorites to this day. From that moment on, cinema became a major source of inspiration for me: films that don’t just entertain, but shake you, visually powerful, with depth, with soul.

My professional journey began at the BDP agency, where I solidified my profile as a creative strategist and met key people along the way, including my lifelong friend Oswaldo, and Melisa, a brilliant mind with whom I would later co-found Colectivo Americana, a project devoted to reclaiming public spaces through art. I was also a partner at Cocina Mona alongside Giancarlo, an underground success that blended gastronomy, concept, and emotion. Giancarlo was also my first great mentor; he taught me that authenticity needs no introduction.

Today, I work as a creative consultant and strategist, helping projects and brands find their center, their shape, and their impact. I’m obsessed with architecture, minimalist spaces, travel, music, and everything that evokes a sense of sensitivity. I don’t like to accumulate things, but I do love collecting ideas, moments, and meaningful projects.
I’m driven by loyalty, coherence, and self-awareness. I have no tolerance for double standards or people who preach what they don’t live. And there’s a phrase that guides me like a compass:
“Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out.”

My dream is clear: a city full of trees, full of art, and streets that tell you stories without saying a single word.

I grew up in Guadalajara, a city shaped by both tradition and reinvention. Early on, I understood that art was more than expression — it was a tool for questioning, disrupting, and rebuilding the world around me.
My journey began in digital animation and functional art, but I soon realized my true calling was to connect worlds — culture and real estate, art and investment, aesthetic experience and long-term value. For over 12 years, I’ve worked alongside real estate developers, supporting clients seeking diverse forms of investment. This path gave me not only a solid grasp of the legal and strategic side of business, but also the ability to understand each project's soul — integrating art as both added value and a driver of meaning.
That’s how I began collaborating on projects like Manifesto Art — an innovative gallery led by my friend and creative ally Katerine, with whom I share a deep vision of art as a catalyst for community, value, and cultural legacy.
I’m a cultural manager, gallerist, and entrepreneur. I’m passionate about creating ecosystems where art engages in dialogue with the city — where artworks speak the language of the people and become part of everyday life. I see collecting as an experience, architecture as a canvas, and ideas as engines for change.
At Colectivo Americana, I translate my vision into concrete actions — from events and curatorial work to partnerships with brands, artists, developers, and neighbors. I work for a Guadalajara that’s more vibrant, more artistic, and more ours.
And when I’m not building cultural projects...
I’m walking through Colonia Americana, headphones on, letting the music guide me — always searching for new stories, new rhythms, and new ways to connect art with life.
Or training, sweating toward a personal goal. Always searching for new rhythms, new stories, and new ways to connect art with life.
I’m imagining new ways to inhabit the city. Always searching for fresh rhythms, stories, and spaces where art can become part of everyday life.
I’m imagining new ways to inhabit the city. Dreaming of possible futures, where art doesn’t decorate, it transforms.

Always creating, always connecting, always searching for new ways to inhabit with meaning.

I grew up between the warmth of Guadalajara and the intensity of Mexico City, a duality that shaped both my visual sensitivity and my deeply human approach to design and life.

From graffiti and visual communication to digital product design, my path merges creative expression with strategic thinking and user experience innovation. In Germany, I’ve led projects for startups, cultural institutions, and global brands like Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz.

I focus my energy on integrating artificial intelligence into design processes, building solutions that enhance creativity, and fostering data-driven approaches within interdisciplinary teams. I believe the future of design lies in the fusion of intuition, data, and collective intelligence.

Alongside my work in AI and design, I lead activism initiatives in Berlin focused on environmental and animal protection. That conviction inspired me to found Love Living Being gUG, a Berlin-based nonprofit that promotes compassion, cultural diversity, and sustainability as pillars of a new way of inhabiting the world.

I’m one of the founding voices of Colectivo Americana, where I lead its strategic vision in design, communication, and innovation. I shape its visual identity with clarity and character—from graphic systems to brand storytelling—crafting a language that fuses beauty, cultural activation, and a deep intention for change.

I don’t stop at closed doors or difficult paths. I believe, persist, fight, and hold my ground.

My work moves between the digital and the physical, the emotional and the functional. I’m in constant search—integrating the spiritual into the creative, the sensitive into the structured. And when I’m not designing, you’ll find me by a lake, swimming in the sea under the sun, dancing at my favorite club, or reading philosophy to explore life’s big questions. Always creating, always feeling—always connected to Pachamama. 🌱
Melisa M. Pelayo aka Meli Miniki