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Genoveva Castellanoz was born November 18, 1932, in Guanajuato, Mexico. When she was two, her family moved to the Texas Rio Grande Valley where she learned the household arts of crocheting, knitting, and embroidery. She also learned to make paper flowers. Her father often contracted to work near Nyssa, Oregon, and dreamed of living there. After Castellanoz married, her entire family settled in Nyssa. Castellanoz became an important figure among Mexican Americans in a wide area because she made paper and wax flowers for baptisms, weddings and quinceañeras. The quinceañera is a rite of passage in which a 15-year-old girl is symbolically ushered into adulthood. The corona is central to the aesthetics of the quinceañera event, as necessary as the ring to a wedding. As the only corona maker in the region, Castellanoz was sought out by parents and families who journeyed hundreds of miles to consult her. The basic materials of Castellanoz's art are simple and inexpensive: typing paper or crepe paper, wax candles, scissors, glue, and wire. She begins by cutting out the petals, forming them into the shape of the desired flower and binding them with wire or glue and finishes by arranging the flowers for the corona or bouquet into the desired shape. "Even though a lot of people don't think so, I believe that the flowers have their own personality," Castellanoz said. "No two are exactly alike." Castellanoz has demonstrated the making of the corona in festivals and school programs, and has participated in workshops and other educational efforts, and for the general public. Castellanoz is also a curandera and is well known as a faith healer in her community. Descended from generations of traditional healers (curanderos), Castellanoz travels about Nyssa offering her services. "Why do I want to help them (my people)?...because we were not helped.”