Noel Vargas Hernandez was born in Llano de las Flores, an Indigenous Zapotec village located in the Sierra Juarez, a mountainous range in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Growing up in a Zapotec community, Noel learned the art of handcrafting wood and turkey bone tools from his father, and worked on the family farm. Inspired by the lines, spots, and dots of,” Noel's work explores Zapotecan Glyphs, and the textures and colors of his native Sierra Juarez. In 2008, this exploration won Noel first place out of 271 submissions at the First National Graphic Arts Biennial Shinzaburo Takeda celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico.