When you look at Antonio Pelayo’s career, it’s impossible not to see a man who has lived and breathed art his entire life. From his humble beginnings sketching in preschool to working three decades at Disney, and now producing some of Los Angeles’ most vibrant cultural festivals, Pelayo has carved out a career that bridges tradition, innovation, and community.
His professional story begins at Disney, where he has worked for 31 years. Landing the role at just 19 years old was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. “Firstly, I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid. I’ve been an artist my entire life, and I did have dreams of working at Disney when I was 15 or 16. That dream came true at 19,” he explains. That first job exposed him to something new. “Being employed at Disney is where I got exposed to my very first art show, which was around ’93/’94.
It was at one of these shows, where a friend introduced him to a famous graffiti artist in downtown Los Angeles. That connection changed everything. “Because of that meeting, my fine art career just took off.” In 2003/ 2004, Pelayo began showing his work in curated exhibitions. Soon after, people began asking him to curate his own shows. For a few years, he organized exhibitions in small galleries and bars, until he felt ready to think bigger. “I got tired of doing that, so then I decided to create one big festival, once a year.”
That decision led to El Velorio, his first large-scale festival celebrating the Day of the Dead. He began planning it in 2008, organized through 2009, and officially launched it in 2010. The event quickly grew in popularity. Five years later, he expanded with La Bulla, a Mexican wrestling festival, and in the same year launched LA Story, which honored lowrider culture, and Tatuaje, which focused on the art of tattoos. Between 2015 and 2017, Pelayo was producing four annual events— Pelayo decided to scale back, but the ideas never stopped pouring in.
While his public events have drawn thousands, Pelayo has also dedicated himself to helping individual artists. “When I started exhibiting my work, and curating shows, I wanted to showcase a lot of my friends that were aspiring artists, and also to give opportunities to artists that wanted to exhibit their work and had no idea how to go about it.” That drive eventually led him and his son, Isaac, to launch the Pelayo Foundation two years ago. Together, they have already raised about $1,00,000.
Even while building festivals and running a nonprofit, Pelayo has never left Disney. For more than three decades, he has been part of the Animation Fine Art department, where his work helps preserve a nearly forgotten craft. In an industry transformed by technology, he remains rooted in tradition. “We keep the tradition of hand inking, hand painting alive,” he explains, his voice carrying both pride and reverence. While their work is now regarded as fine art—sold exclusively to employees rather than used in production—the discipline itself has remained unchanged. “We still hand ink characters on a cel, and paint them on the back of the cel. That’s the same process that was used when animation was created.” In a world rushing forward, Pelayo is one of the few holding on to the painstaking artistry that once defined an era of film.
The foundation of Pelayo’s life in art was established long before his career with Disney. Born in Glendale, he moved to Mexico in 1979 and spent a decade there, shaping not just his cultural identity but his artistic one as well. His gift was recognized in preschool, when a teacher told his mother he was destined to be an artist. By kindergarten, his abilities already exceeded those of older students, a talent impossible to contain. He amused himself by sketching caricatures of teachers and church elders—drawings that often earned him reprimands and confiscations. Yet, even those moments of discipline confirmed what others already sensed: this child had something extraordinary. “That encouragement sparked something. Ever since then, I knew what I wanted to be,” he recalls. It was not a casual interest; it was a calling.
That calling became a legacy passed down to the next generation. Creativity runs through the Pelayo family, and his son Isaac grew up immersed in the art world. “Ever since he was little, I would take him to all the art shows and museums, so he got exposed at a very young age.” Surrounded by canvases, colors, and conversations about art, Isaac developed a relentless drive to create. By 11 or 12, his skill level accelerated rapidly; by 15, he was working nearly shoulder to shoulder with his father. For a time, he even joined Antonio in Disney’s Animation Fine Art department, learning the same meticulous hand inking process that defined the golden era of animation. Eventually, Isaac pursued his own artistic journey, but the seeds planted in his youth remain evident in the confidence and craftsmanship he now brings to his own work.
Looking back, Pelayo reflects on his path with humility and a sense of wonder. “It was my dream, and it came true when I was 19. I believe that no other artist has been hired the way I was hired.” Without formal training, credentials, or art school degrees, he stood out for raw skill alone. At an age when most were just beginning to imagine their futures, he had already stepped into his dream job, the youngest in his department. “For me to get a job at Disney was very weird, lucky, and fortunate,” he admits, as if still surprised decades later by the serendipity of it all.
No matter how many festivals he produces, how many artists he supports through his foundation, or how wide his influence has spread, Antonio Pelayo remains anchored by gratitude. That gratitude is the constant thread weaving through every chapter of his story—from the preschooler with a sketchpad, to the self-taught teenager hired by Disney, to the cultural organizer whose events have touched thousands. His journey is proof that success and humility can coexist, that even great achievements can be rooted in remembering where you began.
