Artist and Activist Mario Saucedo

“I have a passion for working with the community and saving lives,” says Mario Saucedo, a Vallejo mixed media artist and former film industry costume and set designer. An educator, counselor, and community activist, in 2008 Saucedo formed the Solano AIDS Coalition to help the Vallejo community with HIV and AIDS education and prevention. “It was about all the needs in the community – clothes, shoes, food, counseling, toys for kids, gasoline, whatever.” Established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2018, it now serves individuals throughout Solano County.

“We still have a high rate of HIV and STDs in Solano County,” says Saucedo. “It’s hard for me to understand why we are still dealing with this, why our kids, senior citizens, and minorities are still getting infected. But we have a strong force of people that work with the community to provide them with health information.”

Born in Morelia, in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, Saucedo attended college and completed a degree in veterinary science. He moved to the U.S. in June 1987, after his father passed. “Career over,” he sighed. “I’d have to study veterinary science here for another four years. I didn’t want to do it. I discovered my real calling was fashion, art, social services, and humanitarian work.”

Saucedo lived in Hollywood for a while, later moving to Sherman Oaks. In 1992 he landed a job in special effects, making costumes and sets for film productions. “I was young, and had a lot of mentors, especially John Criswell, who does animatronics for the Muppets. I met a lot of wonderful special effects people and actors and actresses.”

But it was the 1990s and Saucedo lost a lot of friends. “Hairdressers, make-up artists, costume designers… I saw them dying left and right. It touched my heart. I became very involved with AIDS in Los Angeles. I’ve seen the dark side of the pandemic. The only way to prevent the spread is through education.”

The environment in Hollywood was not healthy and by 2003, Saucedo had moved to Vallejo. “When I first came here, I saw the need for education and prevention.” He got involved in social services work and collaborated with Solano Health Services and other agencies. In 2012, he began “Las Catrinas,” an art program for youth in which he taught high school students to sew regalia for Vallejo’s signature festival, Día de los Muertos. Working with Alvaro Garcia, past art teacher from Vallejo High School, students used sewing machines in Saucedo’s Vallejo studio to decorate clothing with symbols of the Day of the Dead, including skulls and skeletons. “These kids were so into it, and it was a way, with permission of the parents, to talk with them about HIV-AIDS, safe sex and other topics.”

Saucedo’s art also includes papier-mâché, oil and acrylic, and sculpture. “I do a lot of everything. I think if you’re an artist, the sky’s the limit. I thank God that he gave me that gift. An old but beautiful wedding gown, with stains everywhere, is like a white canvas. What can I do with it? If you are creative, you can make something beautiful with very little money. I use all kinds of dyes and treatments, acrylic paint, bright colors, rhinestones, and whatever I can find.”

Saucedo makes his regalia for special occasions and exhibitions. Some are worn only one time and later repurposed into another beautiful creation. In 2024, Mario created a regalia symbolizing Mother Earth, for Arts Benicia’s Solano Water Stories: Artists’ Voices, displayed at the Temple Art Lofts. In November 2025, he will participate in Arts Benicia’s Where the Spirit Meets the Bone: Grief and Healing exhibition, creating the Ofrendas, or altar for the Día de los Muertos. The celebration honors the dead and encourages families to come together to remember those who they have lost. During the exhibition, which opens on October 25th, visitors can place items of remembrance and/or photographs of their deceased loved ones upon the altar. This ritual will culminate in a ceremony and celebration led by Saucedo on November 2nd. “I’m excited to participate in Benicia again, and to show the artist side of me. It’s a way for me to bring cultural awareness through my art.”

Saucedo works with many different non-profit organizations and agencies including Benicia’s Fiestas Primavera Celebrating Diversity. He has represented Vallejo and Benicia as a Vice President for the Solano Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He is a board member of the Vallejo Historical Naval Museum, Solano Food is Free, and past board member of the Solano Library Foundation. He speaks at seminars, special events, farmers’ markets, health fairs, social service agencies, and visits with the homeless. “You have to identify the areas where the need is the greatest and go there.”