Ungelbah Dávila
✙ Indigenous Digital Storytelling ✙
Ungelbah Dávila: My Story
WILD CHILD
Ungelbah Dávila (Ahn-gee-bah Dah-vee-lah) is a mother, daughter, working creative, land steward, animal friend, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Her first clan is Áshįįhí, she is born for her father who is a descendant of the Spanish and Sephardic Jews of Spain. Her Cheii (maternal grandfather) is of Scotts-Irish descent of the clan Daniel, and her nálí (paternal grandfather) is a descendant of the Sephardic Jews of Spain.
She spent her first 12 years in rural New Mexico on her father’s cattle ranch in Mangas, NM, and mother’s property along the Gila Wilderness and San Francisco River in Reserve, NM. Her childhood home was a cabin her parents built that did not have electricity. The internet didn’t exist, not even AOL. This is the landscape and early isolation that informs her work and makes her ill suited to be anything but an artist and storyteller.
She is currently based in the Rio Grande Valley, south of Albuquerque, NM — on occupied Tiwa Land. However, as the only child she will soon relocate part-time to work remotely while running her family cattle ranch with her daughter Tachi’Bah.
YOUNG, DUMB, AND FULL OF IDEAS
Ungelbah graduated high school from the Santa Fe Indian School (Go Braves!) with honors and snagged her undergraduate from the Institute of American Indian Arts, where she graduated, also with honors, with a BFA in Creative Writing. She is living proof that you can be super scholastic and also a little rock ‘n roll. In her last year at IAIA she launched La Loca Magazine as an Wordpress blog. She began self publishing La Loca with national distribution from 2013-2015 while working as a copyeditor and journalist at the Valencia County News Bulletin (2011-2012) under the mentorship of editor Clara Cano Garcia. Here she was awarded the National Newspaper Association Award: Best Serious Column & Best Breaking News Story (2013).
During this time, Ungelbah met Simon Cantlon, who would become the most important mentor of her life, brother, and co-producer of the largest Rockabilly festival in the Southwest — Rockabilly on the Route (2013-2017). This festival, produced in Tucumcari, NM, and produced 80% remotely, featured headliners including: Wanda Jackson, Wayne the Train Hancock, Delta Bombers, Lee Rocker, Lucky Tubb and the Modern Troubadours, Mad Max and the Wild Ones, the Henchmen, The Starlite Wranglers (Japan), Voodoo Swing, Lance Lipinsky and the Lovers and so many more.
HANG WITH ME KID, I’LL SHOW YA THE WORLD
In 2013 Ungelbah was offered a position as Director of Communications for a boutique, Albuquerque-based advertising firm called EFG Creative, where under the mentorship of Eric Garcia took a crash course in marketing, design, and public speaking. EFG Creative is responsible for the way-finding signs in Albuquerque, Los Lunas and Roswell, NM, and Tulsa, OK. Other clients included Rio Grande Credit Union, Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and Mesa Del Sol.
FREE WHILLIN’
When EFG Creative relocated to Arizona in 2017, Ungelbah stayed in New Mexico to create her own creative house and has been working with clients and organizations ever since (see below).
Today Ungelbah is an award-winning writer & photographer, as well as a copy writer, video/photo content creator, web designer, public relations specialist, marketing manager and media personality. Her photography work includes, but is not limited to: Maternity and newborn, weddings and elopements, professional headshots and family portraits, fashion and editorial photography.
She has worked as an independent creative director for a variety of clients, including non-profits, publications, local businesses, and Indigenous artists and leaders.
Her photography rates start at $300 and are determined on a project-by-project basis. Ungelbah is available for freelance editorial photo and writing assignments, and independent projects at her discretion.
Brandon Lee
MUA/Stylist
Brandon Lee (he/him) is a makeup artist and stylist and transforms a roster of private clients as well as models for in-house editorial photoshoots. He possesses exceptional attention to detail and has been praised by the likes of Nicola Formichetti (designer for Haus of Gaga) for his unique aesthetic.