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RXV Rings
Who is Ruben Viramontes?
Ruben Viramontes was born in the silver mining village of Santa Barbara, Chihuahua, Mexico. Both his childhood and adult years have been divided between living in Los Angeles and Mexico. After studying architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Viramontes worked for the Mexican Institute of Anthropology in church and monument restoration, which gave him an opportunity to travel throughout the entire country and experience local artistry first-hand. Later Viramontes studied jewelry making with master Mexican craftsman near Taxco. Subsequently for many years, Viramontes designed and manufactured jewelry for all the major stores in Mexico.
After Viramontes’ children were born, he decided to return to Los Angeles. He became a Walt Disney Imagineer and spent the next 17 years designing theme parks for Disney, as well as Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. The Disney Company commissioned Viramontes to make hundreds of painting and sculptures that are featured in the parks in Los Angeles, Orlando, Paris, and Tokyo. Over 2,000 of Viramontes’ animal designs are integrated into the Disney Animal Kingdom Park in Florida. Likewise Viramontes’ fellow Imagineers frequently commissioned him to design and fabricate jewelry for their personal use. Viramontes has also designed products for Disney and was a featured artist in the Disney Galleries in Los Angeles and Orlando and the MGM Gallery in Las Vegas.
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