Don Benito Cuauhtémoc Zamora Arreola The Gallery of Exceptional Graphic Entrepreneurs, just created section, pays homage to another entrepreneur, who honoured our sector and is an example for their present and future colleagues: don Benito Cuauhtémoc Zamora Arreola, a patriarch of the Mexican industry of graphic arts.

The story of graphic arts in Mexico can not be understood or evaluated without the arrival of the press “Juan Pablos” to the American continent. However, likewise contemporary history of graphic arts in Mexico can not be either understood nor appreciated without Zamora family, a lineage whose veins carry ink instead of blood.

Mr. Benito Cuauhtémoc Zamora Arreola, (RIP), was the one who initiated more than seven decades ago the said lineage. He was a hard worker and one with a highly generous social and trade union commitment.

Mr. Benito was born on the 12th of January 1908 in the famous neighborhood of San Miguel, located in the city of Mexico; the birthplace of famous boxers, great music band directors, very famous bullfighters, and very well known national painters and sculptors.

His parents, Mr. Daniel Zamora Larios and Mrs. Elena Arreola de Zamora, brought him from very early age from the city of Guadalajara , to Mexico city . He was the first of three brothers.

When he finished the third grade at a public primary school, he started on plastic graphics when he entered to study similarly in the “Colegio Salesiano”, the basics of graphic arts.

There he discovered his preference for the linotype, which was highly requested at that time and entered the department of print press. He also had to learn how to print in offset. All this without overlooking primary basic studies, until he reached the sixth grade.

Later on, when he was an inexperienced 14 year old boy and after 5 years of learning at the Colegio Salesiano, he started to work as an officer in the Department of Press in the workshops of "La Helvetia" paper company, where they printed the texts of the calendars that were imported from Germany and The United States. Later, within the same company, he was transferred to the printing workshops, due to his performance and great capacity.

In time, Mr. Benito acquired enough experience and responsibility to move up to positions of greater importance in the company “Galas de México, S. A.”, one of the greatest and most important companies of graphic arts at the middle of last century.

Thus, after five years of work with offset machines -which were 11- he was appointed General Chief of Workshops, a position he performed for 24 years and where he ended up having 24 machines under his responsibility.

In the year 1953, with all the knowledge acquired along all these hard years of work for other people and companies, and with the huge desire of prospering he decided it was time to be independent and become a businessman so that audaciously using the resources of his liquidation he founded and positioned the company “Litógrafos Unidos, S. A.” in the graphic environment.

With this company and the offset works performed in it, he competed in the United States in 1973, 1974 and 1975, obtaining the first place during the three consecutive years. While he was competing in Germany he obtained gold, silver and bronze medals in three different years.

Thus, with the passing of time Mr. Benito patiently set its prestige and honorableness within graphic community of that time, earning great recognition along time.

One of the most significant was the famous “Caballero de la Orden Juan Pablos”, delivered by the Association of Industrials of Graphic Arts of Mexico (SIAG), which distinguishes the person not only because of his long and productive trajectory within the field of graphic arts, but also for the achievements within the social community.

In addition, this man not only left us his works and vigorous example efforts but also its lineage s. The ascendancy oif two other men worked alike; two men who have continued their love and passion for the graphic arts; two men that each of them in their opportunity have chaired two of the most important Association of teh sector in Mexico: Industrials Union, Lithographers of Mexico, A.C. (UILMAC) and the National Chamber of the Industry of Graphic Arts (CANAGRAF). They are Benito Cuauhtémoc Zamora and José Luís Zamora.

Mr. Benito passed away in April 2004, when he was 96 years old. He worked tirelessly for almost 65 years of continuous work within this environment, always spreading among his children the vocation to make the graphic arts the axis and fundamental reason of his professional life.

This exceptional character once said: “I've always kept and will keep until my last breath the philosophy of the Salesiana School : “Working with quality and always respecting necessities and times that customers require”.

We all know that Mr. Benito was very proud of his origin, his history as printer and the graphic tradition of his country. For him, it was always vital and important to keep alive the historic memory of his people in a time of indifference and oblivion.