Trinidad Núñez Quiñones (born June 13, 1948), otherwise known simply as Trino, is an artisan, artist, researcher and teacher whose work has been recognized with numerous awards in both the city and state of Durango. He was trained as a visual artist but has since specialized in pottery and ceramic sculptures. As a teacher, he has worked as a professor at the state university, trained local indigenous people and established the ceramic workshop which bears his name at Durango city's main cultural center. Life Núñez was born in the small rural community of San José de Gracia in the municipality of Canatlán, Durango to a family with Spanish and Tarahumara heritage. His father, Andrés Núñez Gallegos, was a farmer and political leader in the small town. His mother was Petra Soria Quiñones, who was a traditional housewife, taking care of the family and selling food to field hands on their way to work. Núñez was the youngest of six children, all of whom worked the family's fields and with their livestock. However, Núñez lived in his family's country home only until he was about five years old. In 1953, another local farmer, one of the richest in the town, came to the family's house enraged at Núñez's father over a matter with horses. A violent confrontation began. To defend her husband, Núñez's mother took a rifle and shot the attacker dead. The revenge of the man's family included burning down the home and forcing the family to flee: the father to the mountains and the rest of the family to the outskirts of Durango city to start over. The transition from rural to urban life was difficult for the family. Núñez describes himself as a child as a troublemaker but also extremely curious. The family got by selling a number of things including newspapers. Núñez attended the local public schools. In fourth grade, he was taught how to make small animals by his teacher using clay from a local ravine. It was this experience that taught him that to create was his vocation. He began by molding fish and turtles, figures that can still be seen in much of his work today. In 1973, he married Mireya Rodríguez Vega when he was 24 at a time when large scale marriage ceremonies were sponsored by the state. The marriage lasted twenty years, producing four children: Gerardo, Xochiquetzali, Utzmaya and Iztaccíhuatl. Later