Mexico By Heart

Art That Sustains Communities and Mother Earth

2011-09-01T00:26:00.000-07:00

Question: What do you give the person who has everything?
Answer: Something beautiful made by someone who has next to nothing.

When that something will help sustain a family, a culture, and the Earth, then we can all smile.

I'm talking about sustainable crafts made by indigenous Mexican artisans:
Handmade traditional pottery that is created from local clay deposits, decorated without lead or other chemicals that are harmful to the artisans, their families, and consumers. Use these bowls, plates, or pots to serve healthy, natural food and it will all look and taste better.

Use this lead-free clay cookware to cook your beans on the stove and then serve on your table. The beans will have more flavor and your guests will sing your praises.

Gorgeous hammered copper vases like these are made in Santa Clara del Cobre from 100% recycled copper...old telephone wire, pipe, and motor parts. Add one of these stunning pieces to your table, fill it with flowers and your life will be better...I promise. Give one to a friend or lover, and you will be spreading happiness.
Baskets made with pine needles from Mexico's forests, and tule reeds from Lake Patzcuaro-- all sustainable products that come from the Earth and can be used to beautifully serve your bread and tortillas. Say no to plastic, and yes to natural products that enhance our lives.

Support artisans who are trying to maintain their culture, their families and their communities by buying traditional, sustainable crafts. For more info. or to purchase, please go to: www.mexicobyhand.com

Mexican Women Make Art and History

2011-03-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

As we celebrate Women's History Month 2011, change is happening all over the world. From Egyptian women demonstrating their desire for democracy, to girls attending school for the first time in Afghanistan, to young women now outnumbering men in American universities.
Recently I have personally encountered a profound change also going on in indigenous communities in our neighbor to the south-- Mexico. I hope to share with you the stories and struggles of these indigenous women, as they continue to create beautiful traditional art, working towards a better future for their children. Here are a few snippets from interviews with three women in Michoacán for my video, "En las manos de las mujeres":
"I had the desire to continue my education after
secondary school (8th grade) but my parents wouldn't let me. They said, 'Your brothers will study, but you're a woman...you don't need to study because you won't do anything with it.' My three brothers didn't care about getting an education so they didn't study further... and I, the one who wanted to study...they didn't allow me to."-- Herlinda Morales.
Herlinda grew up in Santa Fe de la Laguna, a Purépecha Indian village on the edge of Lake Patzcuaro-- a place where girls and women usually need to ask the man of the house for permission to go out for any reason-- including to attend classes. Herlinda ignored the gossips and critics to participate in workshops for women artisans, where she learned how to get a better price for her pottery, and about the dangers of using leaded glazes on her clay candelabras. These were lessons that changed her life and caused her eleven years ago to convert her clay workshop to being lead-free, so that her family home and her community's environment would no longer be contaminated from the clay process. Herlinda says it is difficult to make change, but she is working so that her daughter will have a better life than the women who came before her.

Zenaida Rafael Julian (left) quit school in the 3rd grade when her father took off; her mother had to go to work and Zenaida was needed at home to cook and care for her siblings. At age 13, Zenaida's mother began to teach her daughter to make the painted clay figures the village of Ocumicho is known for. When her mother died, Zenaida at age 23 became the sole support of her four younger siblings. She now has 3 children of her own, and refuses to marry. "I prefer to stay single, that way no one can tell me I can't go to a festival or exhibit my art. Here, husbands scold their wives and don't let them leave... because they're jealous I think." This independent lifestyle has caused a lot of gossip in the village, but there is also a great deal of admiration and envy of Zenaida, as she has won dozens of local, state, and national prizes for her work, and today at age 39, is considered to be the finest artist in Ocumicho.

Teofila Servin Barriga (above) left her home on the Santa Cruz rancho near Tzintzuntzan and worked as a servant so that she could attend school in Patzcuaro. She said when she was a child looking up at the airplanes flying overhead, she never dreamed that one day she would be flying in one of those planes to the United States-- on her way to exhibit her embroideries at the prestigious Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. "One of the many things I've learned as an artisan is to value myself... I was afraid sometimes to leave my home-- it was a challenge. But this is the best school one could have in life...it's how we learn. Whatever the obstacle, if we make an effort, we women can make our dreams come true."

Folk art and crafts by these and other artisans of Michoacán is available for sale at: www.mexicobyhand.com
If you would like to learn more about these women and their art, please support our campaign to create a 30 minute video and art exhibit. Here's how you can help:

In Celebration of the Olmecs

2011-02-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

I've written about the Hernandez Cano workshop several times before. They have been a favorite of ours for a long time, and it's great that these artisans are finally being recognized by others for their unique, beautiful burnished pottery featuring Pre-Columbian designs. Numerous of their pieces are now on display in the museum store of the de Young Museum in San Francisco-- to coincide with the upcoming Olmec exhibit.
The Olmecs are most known for the their colossal stone heads and were considered to be the mother culture of Mesoamerica. This artisan workshop, located in Zinapecuaro, Michoacán, specializes in replicating an ancient pottery technique and Pre- Columbian designs. The photo above was taken at the workshop when we picked up the museum's order. Several pieces shown here are part of the stunning collection currently on sale at the de Young. The guys did their best work for this San Francisco show, and we are so pleased to be able to share it with folks in the Bay Area who appreciate fine Mexican crafts.
I love the creativity of this family, and how they all work together, with the younger generation now taking more of a role in both creating new designs and managing the business. I'll never forget my surprise when my first big order in 2005 was written down with pencil on notebook paper. They still use spiral notebooks, but now I am able to place orders via email with Salvador Hernandez Cano's son, German. I am happy to see this technology come to rural Mexico, and thankful that their friendly, honest way of doing business has not changed one bit.

Salvador Hernandez Cano of Zinapecuaro.

If you're interested in seeing more of the burnished pottery from the Hernandez Cano family workshop, please contact Mexico By Hand at: www.mexicobyhand.com or call (510)526-6395

And check out our other blog posts on ceramics with Pre-Columbian designs.

Lead-Free Clay Cookware

2010-11-18T21:15:00.001-08:00

"You can put them on the stove??" is a frequent question from many people when they see this clay cookware. No offense intended, but that's like asking a salesperson if you can wear a raincoat in the rain. Umm...that's what they're for. Es para cocinar. Or to translate into English, "It's for cooking". The amazing thing about these casseroles and pots (and the molera above) is not that you can put them directly on a gas flame or wood fire-- or inside the oven--but that they're from Mexico, and they are LEAD FREE. Most Americans don't realize that even though it has been the law for several years that all pottery designed for food use must be lead free, what you usually get in Mexico-- still-- has lead in the glaze. So most likely the stuff sold as "vintage" collectibles on eBay is full of lead, as is most of the cheap pottery sold in the markets all around Mexico. However this pottery, which is exported by a non-profit organization in Mexico called Barro Sin Plomo, which means lead free clay, is the only Mexican clay cookware imported to the U.S. that is certified lead free.

Using lead free pottery is better for your health, and for the health of the Mexican artisans and their families whose workshops are no longer contaminated with lead dust. The earnings from the pottery sales provide essential economic support for families in several poor Mexican communities, and are also used in the campaign to encourage more artisans to give up the use of lead in their clay process.
I mentioned the usual reaction by Americans to this cookware, but there is also a typical response from Mexicanos or Mexican-Americans when they see it here in the United States. Young and old, men and women, most react emotionally, remembering an abuelita who used to cook amazing sopa, frijoles, or mole in simple pots just like these. They know that the food tastes better cooked in clay-- no convincing needed there. This is part of their cultura, and the memories and feelings are strong. So many of these folks, while they have adapted to the American style of supermarket shopping and food preparation, remember a time when there was always a pot of something delicious on the fire, cooking nice and slow, all day long.
The family's meal was homemade, and the clay pot used for cooking it was handmade... like this one on the right, which is part of our new product line we're calling Cocina Sana (healthy kitchen) through Mexico By Hand.
For more information, or to purchase lead-free clay cookware, please go to www.mexicobyhand.com
or contact us at: (510) 526-6395.
Wholesale customers of Cocina Sana are most welcome.

See traditional clay cookware being used today in Mexico in the beautiful video below from UNESCO.

Burnished Clay Pots

2010-11-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

Mexico By Hand is excited to be exhibiting the beautiful clay pots from Huancito, Michoacán at the Green Festival on Nov. 6th and 7th in San Francisco.
The first time we went to Huancito (pronounced wáhn-see-toe) was in 2004 to tape an interview with Bernardina Rivera and Elena Felix for our video project for Michoacán's La Casa de las Artesanias, and we really weren't sure what to expect. We found some major challenges taping that day, but the best part was when Elena and Bernardina took us out to where they mine the clay, which was very cool. The women do it all, including picking and digging up the clay and hauling it back home-- all with babies on their backs. At that time we had no idea that these two women who are sisters-in-laws, were in the Banamex collection, Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art. We were grateful for the opportunity to get to meet these very talented women from whom we have been buying for several years now.

We have had funny chance meetings with members of the family since then. I found the beautiful large white pot below when Imelda, Elena's daughter, was holding it on her lap on a sidewalk in Patzcuaro...waiting for a buyer. I had bought several smaller ones from her the year before as she was walking around town with her little brother, carrying a load of pots strapped to her back. It's about a two hour bus ride from Huancito to Patzcuaro; that's what these folks have to do in order to sell their work.
The pots were originally designed thousands of years ago to store water and were stacked as towers because of limited space. After the pieces are formed and air-dried, they are coated with charanda, a soil pigment. They are then burnished or polished with a stone and decorated totally free hand with a squirrel hair brush. They say that the paint is made from ant excrement, but we never got to see them make that.
(left) Imelda is painting pots with her grandmother in the family workshop...

And one Saturday afternoon this past August we ran into Elena Felix sitting on a sidewalk with her pots near the Plaza Grande in Patzcuaro. She had so many beautiful pieces there, including these below, but few takers. There aren't many foreign tourists in Michoacán these days, and unfortunately few Mexican nationals buy elaborate fine quality crafts like these.

It was a good day for Elena and her family, and a great day for Mexico By Hand to be able to purchase this magnificent work that is so appreciated by our customers.

I've also gotten to know another Huancito family-- the Espicios. They have visited me bearing pots at my favorite Patzcuaro hotel, Meson de San Antonio, and this summer we happened to be driving off at just the right time when we saw Marta (below on left) walking up the hill to our hotel with some gorgeous pots to show me. Her husband, David, and their children all work with clay. The two pots with handles (photo above) are part of a tower of 8 pieces made by Maria Guadalupe. Mexico By Hand will have work by both Huancito families in booth #534 at the S.F. Green Festival.
For more info. on purchasing these pots, go to www.mexicobyhand.com.

Sustainable Hammered Copper

2010-10-17T12:18:00.001-07:00

Several hundred people work as copper artisans in the small town of Santa Clara del Cobre in Michoacán, Mexico and are recognized throughout the world for their talent and skill.
Hammered copper art from Mexico is not only considered to be the finest in the world, but this traditional Pre-Columbian craft is sustainably produced as well. Each copper piece is made from 100% recycled copper, eliminating the use of mined resources, and benefiting the environment. The copper is heated in a bonfire made with pine wood scraps. The flame, ash and soot from this process produces the rich chestnut patina. No chemicals are used to achieve this patina, and no molds are used. The artists individually craft each piece by hand, hammered from a single lump of copper-- that was created by melting down the pipe, wire, old motor or cooking pot. The process is extremely laborious, in many case requiring a full month or more of daily work, which consists of repeated heating and hammering the raw copper first into a mass, and then into the desired shape, finally ending with the process of a beautiful hammered finish. The work requires not only skill, but great strength and endurance, as it may take thousands of hammer blows in order to complete one large piece. Every piece is made entirely by hand and no two are exactly alike. Mexico By Hand is proud to feature the copper art created by Roberto Castro Hernandez (below).

We'll be selling hammered copper and other beautiful handmade sustainable art from Michoacán, Mexico at the San Francisco Green Festival the weekend of November 6th & 7th. Come visit us! We'll be in the Fair Trade section in booth 534. http://www.greenfestivals.org
To make a purchase or for more information, you can also find us at www.mexicobyhand.com.

Adelitas

2010-09-28T01:44:00.000-07:00

"La Adelita" in Mexico has become an archetype of a woman warrior during the Mexican Revolution. An Adelita was a soldadera, or woman soldier, who not onlycooked and cared for the wounded but also actually fought in battles against Mexican government forces. In time the word “Adelita” was used for all the soldaderas, who became a vital force in the revolutionary war efforts.

The pictures above and on the left are examples of popular Mexican images of a sexy Adelita.
Today the term and image has evolved, and "Adelita" is used to signify a woman of great strength and courage.

Mexico By Hand salutes the Adelitas of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, as well as the millions of modern day Adelitas who also exhibit great strength and courage.
Que viva Mexico! Que vivan las Adelitas!
Here are some contemporary clay figures made by the award-winning Purepecha artist, Zenaida Rafael Julian of the village of Ocumicho.
Below, Zenaida's Adelita is riding along side a male revolutionary. The other Adelita's are armed indigenous women who often carried their babies wrapped in a rebozo on their backs.

These and other Adelita figures are available through: www.mexicobyhand.com. Please contact us for more information.

Master Artisans ...victims of our ignorance

2010-07-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is not an unusual scene here in Michoacán, me crouching before an artisan and her wares. What is remarkable about this picture is the artisan who is sitting on the cold stones steps of a doorway with her children hovering nearby. This is Elena Felipe Felix, an award-winning artist who is featured in the prestigious book and collection, Masters of Mexican Folk Art. We met Elena six years ago when we filmed her in her family workshop in the remote pueblo of Huancito for our video documentary. Since then her work has been selling well in the U.S. and some of her pieces are part of the permanent collection of Mexico's Museum of Arte Popular. (See my previous post with more info. on Elena and her sister-in-law: http://mexicobyhand.blogspot.com/2009/11/huancito-clay-pots.)
On this Saturday Elena and her children traveled two hours by bus from her village, her clay pots wrapped in a rebozo on her back, in order to sell her work to passersby near the Plaza Grande in Patzcuaro. I was happy to see her of course, because I was anxious to buy her beautiful work again. And the feeling was mutual, because she needed the sale. A few people stopped to look as I was selecting my pieces for purchase (it seems to attract Mexican customers when there's a gringo who's interested) but they walked on after asking the price. Without divulging the amount I spent, let's just say the asking price was ridiculously low for the amount of talent and work involved in creating these pieces. Mexican tourists (and there were many in Patzcuaro that day) aren't buying traditional fine crafts, and Americans are too afraid to travel to Mexico. So Elena Felix, like so many other talented master Mexican artists are left to peddle their work on the street, along with the 7 year old child who sells gum, and the 70 year old woman who sells peanuts. Will her children who are watching her struggle choose to continue to work as artesanos like their mother? Or will they be leaving their homes and head for El Norte, as so many from Michoacán have done already? This is not only about the survival of these families, but the survival of an endangered art form.
What can we do? We can buy this beautiful traditional art and enhance our own lives as well.
Burnished pots like these from Elena Felix, plus the video showing her working, will be available for purchase at www.mexicobyhand.com

Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

2010-06-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Getting closer to our departure for the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. The copper pieces have arrived, after making the long journey from Santa Clara del Cobre, but unfortunately their creator, Roberto Castro Hernandez, won't be joining them. Roberto told me that personal financial issues prevent him from traveling to Santa Fe, and the fact that our U.S. State Dept. makes it SO damn difficult for Mexicans to get a tourist visa was extremely discouraging. Presenting an official letter of invitation from the New Mexican government, explaining that Roberto was selected to exhibit at this prestigious cultural event made no difference...they wouldn't give him permission to spend four days in this country. No wonder people give up trying to come here legally-- it's almost impossible to get a visa!

Hopefully we will have great success, sell it all for him, and will work on bringing Roberto next year. Here are samples of two pieces that have been favorites in past years.

But...Felipe Horta, talented mask maker from Tocuaro, Michoacán, will be with us in our booth!

If you want to learn more about the fabulous Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, coming this July 9-11, check out their website: www.folkartmarket.org

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's Cinco de Mayo and I am aware--again-- of how little we Americans really know about our neighbor to the south. So, let's get this out of the way. Yes, it's a cool holiday for those of us who like to drink margaritas and Coronas and have a good time celebrating the color and spirit of Mexico. But, it's not Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo is not even celebrated in most parts of Mexico. I remember when we were living in Morelia in May of 2004, and I was shocked that NOTHING was happening! Just a regular day, it wasn't even a day off from school. If you want to celebrate, go ahead, because though it's not significant for the Mexicanos in Mexico, it is a big day for Latino pride here in the U.S. You might want to read the link below to find out what did happen on the 5th of May in 1862.
http://www.mexonline.com/cinco-de-mayo.htm
Oh, and maybe this year you should do something different. Like try drinking a good Mexican beer such as Bohemia. By the way, if you are ever in Michoacan, la cerveza Victoria is mighty tasty.
But if you really want to celebrate, buy a nice piece of art-- such as the Virgen of Guadalupe figure above from Ocumicho, or a handmade rebozo or blouse. It will help a struggling Mexican artist, and bring some beauty into your life that will last a lot longer than your tequila buzz.
For a large selection of fine Mexican folk art and crafts go to www.mexicobyhand.com
(below on left) Rebozo from La Piedad. Many other styles and colors also available.
(below on right) Handpainted batea from Quiroga.

Calabacitas

2010-04-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Martinez family has one of the three workshops on the same short block in Zinapecuaro where the burnished squash or calabazas are made. We have been buying from the other two for several years now, but this past year we discovered the Martinez artisans -- dad, mom and son-- thanks to this boy here, who is NOT a member of the family. This guy came out to hustle us inside as we were going into his neighbor's place, our friends the Hernandez Cano family, to buy clay squash... in other words... the competition. We agree to come by after, and we did. The mini squash are a new thing in town, and the Señora's specialty. Her husband, Ventura Martinez and her son, Fernando make the large ones. The chico spends a lot of time helping the Señora, instead of going to school because it doesn't interest him. She in turn feeds him and basically mothers him, which he apparently doesn't get much of at home. I hope the boy listens to my advice about the importance of knowing how to read and do math if you're going to be a successful artisan or whatever. Obviously he finds something interesting and worth learning in this family's clay workshop. I'm curious to see how he's doing a year later. Maybe I'll buy one of his creations next time.
Look for more mini clay squash like these in the photo around September on our website: www.mexicobyhand.com. Please contact us if you'd like to order, or for more info. about the pieces you see here.

For more on other artisans of Zinapecuaro:
http://mexicobyhand.blogspot.com/2009/10/burnished-pottery-of-hernandez-cano.html

Sustainable Woven Tule Baskets

2010-04-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Every day should be Earth Day, don't you think?
This traditional woven basket from Michoacán is almost an endangered species, because most Mexicans are now using insulated plastic or styrofoam tortilleros. They do the job and keep the tortillas hot, but most everyone agrees they're pretty ugly. The tortillero here was handmade by an indigenous artisan near Lake Patzcuaro, and the material used came right from the shores of the lake. It's called chuspata there, but more commonly known here as tule reeds. Wrap up your tortillitas in a handwoven or embroidered servilleta (napkin) and serve them in this pretty basket-- and you've got yourself an eco-friendly sustainable item for your home. Plus you're helping employ poor folks in Mexico who can really use the income. The chuspata artisans also make animal figures, and even lamps and furniture that are reinforced and quite strong! It's a sustainable craft that gives your home that touch of soul and charm we all desire. Please contact us if you're interested in making a purchase at www.mexicobyhand.com. We also sell wholesale to stores and restaurants.

I often buy from señora Juliana whose family workshop is located in the pueblo of Ihuatzio. Here she demonstrates figure weaving with another kind of plant material they call popote or straw. You can often find her here at La Casa de los Once Patios in Patzcuaro.

Above is a typical woven fish, one of the many animal figures made by skilled Purepecha artists. Below on the left, a beautiful chuspata tray with handles. And below on the right-- a lovely, yet sturdy chuspata chair and lamp made from tule reeds from around Lake Patzcuaro.

Lovely Lead-Free Ceramics

2010-03-10T09:09:00.001-08:00

This beautiful piece was made by a pottery cooperative located in a remote indigenous village in Michoacán, Mexico called Patamban. Patamban has been a community of Purepecha Indian potters since the 16th century. The cooperative known as Alfareros de Patamban began to work as a group in 1974, but in the beginning each family worked separately in its own workshop and joined together only to sell their products. In 1984 they had developed more trust between the artisans, and decided to change their technique, which led to the high-fired, lead free product they now produce in the cooperative's central workshop. The founders are Ricardo Calderon (educated and trained in Mexico City) and his wife, Catalina Bony, who comes from a family of French ceramicists. Now many of the original founding members are in their fifties and sixties, and their children are working in the cooperative.

All of these ceramics are lead free--therefore safe to use with food-- plus they are dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe. And because they are high-fired, they're strong and don't easily chip. Which can't be said for most Mexican pottery. I personally own several pieces, including a coffee mug I use every day. Heat up your coffee in the microwave? No problem. Put it in the dishwasher? Comes out great. And what a nice piece of handmade art to hold in your hand to give you pleasure and inspiration, as you go about your daily routine. Each piece is signed by the individual coop member who painted it. The design on the right was made by Maria.
The sugar bowl below (you can use it for other items as well) features a handpainted scene of the rural landscape around Patamban. It was the landscapes that first attracted us to these artisans after seeing their large dinner plates in an upscale restaurant in Morelia.
Entire sets with 6 or 8 settings are also available, plus a variety of serving pieces.
But the fish motifs are really beautiful too!

Below are more examples of beautiful serving pieces: some small snack plates and a beautiful large platter.
We'll be exhibiting these and other lead free pottery at the San Francisco Green Festival on Nov. 6-7 in the Fair Trade section, booth 534. www.greenfestival.org.
To purchase online or for more information go to:
www.mexicobyhand.com.

Beautiful Bateas

2010-02-02T21:55:00.001-08:00

The Michoacán town of Quiroga is named after the man the Purepecha Indians affectionately call Tata Vasco or great- grandpa. He was the Archbishop Vasco de Quiroga who in the 16th century established the crafts industry in so many pueblos in Michoacán, crafts which continue to this day.
What you see here is the artesania that actually comes from Quiroga: brightly painted bateas or wood plates. Most of what is sold in the souvenir shops that line the main street is not artesania and is not made by people in the town either, though there are some real artisans who live in pueblos just a few kilometers away. Quiroga is where one goes to eat the best carnitas, but it's not the place to go for fine crafts.
Except for this man, Antonio Anita Mejia, the last remaining artisan in Michoacán who does this work. I didn't use to pay much attention to the large bateas I would see at the various concursos (competitions) as I was more focused on the unusual, extremely laborious technique called maque. But I have new found appreciation for his work. Antonio makes those brightly painted chairs, and his trasteritos (little dish racks) are also wonderful. They have recently become one of my more popular items. The colors are lovely... each piece is vibrant and makes one happy just to look at it. But it's the brush strokes, obviously displaying a rare talent, that make this work special.
Trasteritos can easily be hung on the wall and are great for holding tequila glasses, spice jars, or toiletry items in the bathroom. I had fun painting one of these unfinished carved trasteritos to use in our house in Morelia. It worked as a shelf for our glasses, but wasn't nearly as beautiful as Antonio's. I wish I had known about him then.
I actually don't know a lot about Señor Anita, except I remember the first time we met--which was just last year-- he told me that he has been working to support himself since he was 12 years old. He has a wife and children in Quiroga who also help out with the business, which like most artesanos is located in the family home.

Click on the photos to enlarge. To purchase painted bateas and trasteritos, or unfinished ones to paint yourself, go to:
www.mexicobyhand.com.

The Flight to Michoacán

2010-01-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

Did you know that millions are flying to the Mexican state of Michoacán right now, and they won't need to show a passport or have to be screened by airport security? Most of them are probably there already. " Every fall, huge numbers of Monarch Butterflies gather in southern Canada to migrate. Until recently, it was not known where these butterflies went. We now know that some Monarch butterflies travel over 3,100 kilometers, just to overwinter in places like Michoacán. These long flights pose great danger for the butterflies, especially from predators. But these little insects have something to teach us about resilience.
In 2002 heavy rains and extreme cold in Michoacan and the State of Mexico killed almost 80 percent of the Monarch butterflies there. Perhaps as many as 500 million butterflies died that year. But in 2002 the butterflies returned--in a big way. Between 200 million and 500 million Monarchs spent the winter in Michoacán before returning back to Canada and the eastern part of the U.S.

Those of us who are "in the know" and have had the opportunity to visit one of the Monarch sanctuaries experience something we can never forget. I had first learned about the Monarch's yearly journey to Mexico when I was teaching a lesson about them to my 4th grade students. The Monarch is state insect of California and we were studying the life cycle of the butterfly. A few years later I was living in Morelia, and of course was excited about seeing this place for my self. In March of 2004, after journeying to the Eastern Sierra (about 2 hours from Morelia) while taking in amazing views, and then traveling up a rocky hillside on horseback, my husband, Doug, our daughter, Jenny, and my two brave parents (who were in their 80's!) were treated to the thrilling sight of thousands of butterflies covering the trees and filling the air around us. (The photo below was taken on a previous trip in September to the hot springs called Los Azufres when the mirasoles are in full bloom.)I hadn't thought about that adventure for a while until I recently came across two environmental educators who organize tours for teachers and naturalists to Monarch Butterfly sanctuaries every February. It looks like a great trip-- I suggest you check them out and join them if you're looking for an adventure. Though February can be warm on the beaches of Mexico, it definitely isn't in the mountain area where the weather is always on the cool side. But if you usually experience blizzards that time of the year where you live, then I suggest you leave your snow parkas home and head for the hills of Michoacán. Just don't plan on wearing your bikini.

You can find out more about the Monarchs, see beautiful photos and learn more about the tours at http://www.monarchsacrossga.org/trips.php
UPDATE, Feb. 2010 reports on trip to Monarch sanctuaries:

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/spring2010/MAG_021810.html

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/spring2010/MAG_022510.html

HAPPY 2010! Folk Art-- a Design Trend?

2009-12-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Interior Design Trends for 2010

According to a group of interior designers who were asked to make predictions, consumers will be looking for handmade crafts from here and around the world to decorate their homes. If you look at trend # 7 and #8 below, our indigenous crafts from Mexico are just the thing to bring more "personality" into your living spaces! We have known for a while that pieces of traditional art or crafts made by human beings can help to create a beautiful home, but I also believe they can give a house more character-- personality if you will. A unique, handmade piece that you fall in love with becomes a part of the family, almost like a pet. You don't have to feed it or take it for a walk, but you do have to care for it and treat it well. If you do, you will be rewarded with years of pleasure. Here is an excerpt from the article in the San Francisco Chronicle 12/27/09:
7. Artisanal goods
Just as artisanal foods have taken off, expect the same for home
furnishings and accessories. "Artisanal work will continue to be strong,"
said interior designer Benjamin Dhong. "Even modernists want to see
natural materials or the hand of the craftsman brought into their homes."

8. The well-traveled look
The Sundance Channel series "Man Shops Globe" follows Anthropologie
buyer-at-large Keith Johnson as he visits country after country, looking
for special pieces and inspiration for the company's 135 stores worldwide.
Whether you're scouring the stalls in Paris or browsing shops during a
quick weekend getaway, incorporating souvenirs in a space can give it a
bit of personality.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/12/27/HOUE1B42T3.DTL#ixzz0b29jzFPl

In the years I have been sharing the indigenous crafts of Michoacan, Mexico with folks here in the U.S., I have happily witnessed many customers literally fall in love with a piece of artesania. Some times they spend a long time gazing at it, stroking it. I have seen people walk away, only to return to the same piece several times saying they can't decide. They'll say, "I don't need it", or "I can't afford it", but they are somehow drawn to it and just can't let go. One woman recently told me when she came to my booth, "I can't stop thinking about the plate I saw here yesterday"... She couldn't stop thinking about it all night. Sounds like love to me. Who can explain why something speaks to us, why we are drawn to an object, just like we are drawn to a person? For me, my affection for the art is often wrapped up with the artist behind the piece. Learning about the history, the process, and then of course best of all, meeting the artisan who lovingly used his or her hands to create a traditional piece helps to give it even more meaning. That's why I try to provide information and photos of the artists, and encourage everyone to come see for yourselves on one of our tours. It's about having a relationship with the art and the artist, and we don't get that when we buy mass-produced objects made in a factory. If a home is more than a house, if it's a place where relationships form and grow and nurture us, then it makes sense that we try to adorn our living spaces with art that touches us and makes us feel connected to other humans. And if the art is from another country, a different culture, and represents a community's historical tradition and present-day struggle for survival--that's even more meaningful. So if you would like to be part of this 2010 trend and need some decorating ideas for your home, check out: www.mexicobyhand.com.
I wish you and yours a very Happy New Year...one of good health, peace in our world...and more beautiful art!

Happy Holidays

2009-12-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

I love poinsettias...la Flor de Noche Buena in Spanish. They don't really have Christmas trees in Mexico, at least not in Michoacán, though there are plenty of pine trees around. Just not the custom, which is fine by me. One of my strongest memories of the holiday season is the Mercado de la Independencia, Morelia's largest market, and its huge section of poinsettias for sale outside. Since it was only a few blocks from our house in the Centro, and the place where we did most of our food shopping, I visited that section of the market a lot. We brought a big one home and put a few presents around it, and that and the blinking plastic Virgen of Guadalupe on the wall, plus Doug's homemade menorah were our holiday decorations that year.

Since then, we have been able to acquire a few quality pieces of artesania that are available to folks who wish to deviate from the usual. Need a menorah? How about a stunning one with black
glaze from the Purepecha village of Santa Fe de la Laguna? Or a clay Nacimiento (nativity) from Ocumicho?

The embroidered scene above has it all: the baby Jesus, a piñata, and even a Christmas tree. Looks like a wonderful time.
I have recently discovered a great new website. Lots of food info plus Mexican culture in general. Please check it out, and then of course come back here. There is great information about piñatas and some folks who actually make them on: Mexico Cooks!
El Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe is December 12th...the official start of the holidays in Mexico. It's also the beginning of Chanukah this year.
I wish you all Feliz Navidad y Chanukah and a very happy, healthy, prosperous, and peaceful New Year!

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T10:11:00.001-08:00

It's the day before Thanksgiving and with all the madness of food prep and housecleaning, I realized that I need to take a minute to reflect upon all that I am grateful for at this moment in time. It has been five years since we began this venture...which is something that we sort of fell into, really. I didn't go to Mexico in June of 2003 with the idea of starting an import business, it just evolved and came about organically because of mainly two things: the Art and the Relationships. The art speaks for itself. It is beautiful and inspiring and gets better every year. I never, and I mean never get tired of looking at it.
Though the public events we do are always a lot of work, I enjoy watching people admire the amazing art I am able to bring back from Michoacan... it feels so good when I get to share this gift I have been given with others.
The photo above represents the relationship part of this business. I am using it this year again in promotion of my upcoming annual event for loyal Mexico By Hand customers who live in the Bay Area. (please email me if you'd like to be on the list) I can't remember who in my family actually took the photo, but the creator of that beautiful display of our copper pieces was a brilliant and talented artist, designer, and friend named Reuben Godinez. He was originally from Michoacán it turns out, and immigrated to Napa when he was 14. He received his MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts, and went on to do too many things to mention here. We met at our first Dia de los Muertos show in 2005, and collaborated several times since then, including our most recent exhibit at the Petaluma Arts Center. Reuben loved this year's catrinas (see below).

After working his heart out on yet another masterpiece for the Day of the Dead celebration, Reuben died on Nov. 14 at the age of 34. I am so sad about this terrible loss, but extremely grateful for the opportunity to have known him through my work. His own art was contemporary and edgy, but together we appreciated the artisans of his homeland, respected and loved each other, and had fun bringing the art to those who were fortunate to experience it. I will miss Reuben, but his passion for life and his influence on me will live on.

Day of the Dead...you can't be serious!

2009-11-06T11:08:00.001-08:00

Day of the Dead. Like the notion of an after life, one needs to suspend disbelief. We don't actually KNOW what happens after we die, even if one believes in a heaven and hell, no one has been there and returned to report what it actually looks like. So when a woman at a recent Dia de los Muertos event pointed out how weird it is to see a skeleton such as the one below with breasts, I am amused. Yes, it is unrealistic, but is it less "real" than all the other religious rituals and spiritual practices surrounding death and dying? The whole idea of playing with death, dressing up skeleton figures in clothing and arranging them in life-like poses, is to say "whatever"...it is all possible. And impossible too. Without getting too deep into these questions, the idea that one day we are alive and then one day we die and no longer exist...that can't be possible. And if it is true, I don't think we should put up with it.
Please enjoy these examples of some talented Mexican artist's imaginations-- inviting us to let go of what we think is real and unreal.

These and other skeleton figures, also known as catrinas and calacas, are available for purchase.
Check out www.mexicobyhand.com or contact us at info@mexicobyhand.com.

Spirit Sashes

2009-11-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

We first got to know Nati when we were shooting our video documentary for La Casa de las Artesanias (the Michoacán Folk Art Center) and right away we knew that she was special. How many people can endure so much illness and hardship, and manage to smile like that? Polio as a child, and barely surviving cancer shortly before we met, Nati has always inspired Doug and me. When I look at this photo-- her crippled feet tucked under and her wooden crutches nearby-- with that big warm smile... I feel this gentle woman's strong spirit and determination.

Natividad Romero Casimiro makes each of her weavings with love, generosity, and gratitude, and the hope that tomorrow will be better. For that reason, I call them "spirit sashes".
Recently a woman asked me at an exhibit for Dia de los Muertos, what these woven pieces sashes called fajas are for. I answered that the women who make them use them as belts, but one could make a camera or guitar strap out of them, or simply hang them for decoration. All were correct answers to her question. But I needed to tell her so much more. I needed to say that all of Nati's woven belts, bags, and table runners carry the same designs used by her ancestors, the Purepecha women who came before her and who taught the next generation, as she is now doing. When I look at her weavings I am reminded of all the poor Mexican campesinos who struggle to hold on to their indigenous traditions. Weavings from Cuanajo-- even from this master artisan-- have never been commercially successful. Mexicans and Americans alike usually fail to understand that $70 (my reduced price) is not a lot of money for this work. So I end up selling what I buy from Nati at my cost...which gives her a few more pesos for food or bus tickets or yarn, so that she might keep doing what she knows until she can't any do it any longer.
We hadn't seen Nati for a couple of years, though we saw her mother last summer, and we were anxiously hoping to find her at home this time when we brought our tour group this past August. There she was, as soon as we turned into Cuanajo, walking down the dirt road towards her house. We stopped to pick her up, and after kisses and happy exclamations of "que milagro", we quickly noticed how the diabetes has taken its toll on this woman who has already suffered so much. We all treasured that visit...our tourists also found Nati and her family special, and they enthusiastically bought numerous weavings to take back home. Below Nati proudly posed this summer with one of her cotton fajas. Her mother, Maria Guadalupe (right) is holding a certificate Nati received in recognition of a weaving course she gave. Maria, also an excellent weaver, recently stopped weaving due to the arthritis in her hands.
To see or purchase cotton fajas or wool purses (morral) please go to our website: www.mexicobyhand.com

Burnished Pottery of the Hernandez Cano Family

2009-10-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

It was love at first sight. I remember well the first time I saw the gorgeous burnished pottery made by the Hernandez Cano family. We were on the Plaza Vasco de Quiroga, aka the Plaza Grande, in Patzcuaro about a week before Dia de los Muertos 2003. It was the year we lived in Michoacán and were just getting to know all that it had to offer. The plaza was covered with vendors selling artesania, but I happened to spot this unusual pottery set out on a few boards on the plaza's edge. It actually stopped us in our tracks. I found out from the young man sitting there that it was made at a workshop in a town called Zinapécuaro. Being out of the way and not close to any other crafts villages on our list to explore discouraged us for a while from making the trip. Until we discovered that this town is also where they make the fabulous burnished clay squash we had been drooling over as well. We have been buying from the artisans in Zinapecuaro for five years now, and have always felt a special affection for this unusual family workshop, led by brothers Salvador, Jose Guadalupe, and Gabriel. We usually have to stop and ask for directions (did I say it's out of the way?) and it's tradition that when we visit, Doug burns the guys a bunch of CDs of sixties and seventies music. They especially like the Doors.
We hadn't been there for a couple of years, but this year we had a special request by someone on our Art and Culture Tour to visit the "squash town"... so we made the journey.
The Hernandez Cano workshop has about twenty family members working there now, with three different "showrooms" full of gorgeous pottery, some of which is below. Though I was not really in the market, I couldn't resist and ended up buying a few more of their pieces.
(photo on right: Salvador Hernandez Cano is painting a new piece)

Below (left) the family members all joined in to help pack up the clay calabazas we had ordered. They make those also. Pieces first dry in the sun on the patio, and the horno in the back on the left (right photo) is where the artisans fire the pottery.

The Hernandez Cano family workshop began in 1815. When the demand for lead-free ceramics caused many artisans of the town to give up their craft, the Hernandez Cano family took the opportunity to create something new. They were fortunate to be granted a contract with Mexico’s Museum of Anthropology to rescue an ancient technique of painting in negative, which had all but disappeared. And as a result of their research into Aztec, Maya, and Tarascan designs, the family came up with their own recognizable and unique style, a style that has won them numerous state and national awards within Mexico. Today the grandsons of those artisans are well known for their beautiful burnished pottery featuring Pre-Hispanic designs. The brothers, who are constantly creating new designs and innovations, are also teaching their children who work along side them, even down to the 5 year old, who according to his uncle, Gabriel, is learning what it means to “feel the emotion of the clay”. Each handmade piece reflects the family workshop’s joy and pride in Mexico’s rich cultural traditions. The beautiful piece below is a traditional shape, called a luneta and features one of my favorite designs. This and more is for sale at www.mexicobyhand.com.

If you read Spanish, you can check out the following article from a Michoacan newspaper, plus the Hernandez Cano brother's blog.

http://tallerhernandezcano.blogspot.com

Michoacán Masks!

2009-10-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have never been a major collector of masks...I leave that obsession to my husband, Doug. We have a few at home, which started out on one wall and have now spread throughout most of the house. The family and I have a running joke about Doug's inability to travel to Mexico without bringing home a new mask. He just can't say "no". Some of the collection were gifts or flea market finds...which of course means he is not to blame. Right now we are fortunate to have some "guests" who will be with us for a short while until they find new homes, that is until they're sold. Like the amazing wood mask on the left called La Dualidad (the duality) by master Michoacán mask maker, Felipe Horta Tera of Tocuaro, a pueblo at the edge of Lake Patzcuaro.

The skull mask on the right is also by Horta. I love the beautifully carved owl and the fantastic bone-like finish he was able to create. There is another skull mask shown on my website www.mexicobyhand.com where you can also find price and ordering information.
Felipe Horta Tera learned wood carving and mask making from his uncle, Juan Horta, who until his death a few years ago was said to be the best mask maker in Tocuaro. Now Felipe is considered the best, and he takes his role as keeper of his pueblo's tradition very seriously.
All the masks are dance or ceremonial masks, part of the rich history and culture of the Purepecha people. These and other masks by Felipe are on exhibit at the Petaluma Arts Center's El Dia de los Muertos show. Felipe frequently is invited to visit the U.S. to exhibit, and has made an annual stop in the San Francisco Bay Area for Dia de los Muertos celebrations. This year his booth will be next to ours on Nov. 1 at the Fruitvale Day of the Dead Festival in Oakland-- please come by to see more masks and other beautiful art from Michoacán. But if you can't get to these Bay Area events, or don't plan on visiting Michoacán any time soon, Felipe's masks can purchased through me.
The guy on the right is the most well-known of Michoacan's dance masks, used regularly whenever the Dance of the Viejitos (little old men) is performed... a show by the way, that is not to be missed. The dancers ranging in age from 5 to 75 with incredible talent and endurance, actually wear these masks while dancing, along with the traditional woven wool gabans or serapes.
Felipe Horta Tera (above left) in his workshop in Tocuaro, Michoacán. And a Dance of the Viejitos performance enjoyed by Mexico By Hand Art and Culture Tour folks at the wonderful folk music peña in Morelia, Colibrí. Tourists can also visit the workshop of Felipe Horta Tera.
For information on the Art and Culture Tour: www.mexicobyhand.com

More info. on Day of the Dead events:
PetalumaArtsCenter
Fruitvale Day of the Dead

La Catrina

2009-10-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Who is this lady, where did she come from, and why is she getting so much attention? I am asked this question a lot.
Her name is Catrina, and she has become a recognized symbol or icon for Day of the Dead in both Latin America and here in the United States. Yes, she is part of the Dia de los Muertos celebration, but that's not her true origin. La Catrina (below) was one of many skeleton images created by Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada.
Posada's calaveras, accompanied by witty social commentary in rhyming verse, were printed in newspapers and reached the farthest corners of the Mexican Republic. They aren't evoking death, but are mocking the living-- their defects, weaknesses and vices. Posada's skeleton caricatures have been called "calaverismo politico" -- his attempt to uncover the "rot of political and social life" in Mexico at the time. The Catrina, an upperclass lady of the turn-of-the-century, is depicted in her broad-brimmed hat and is Posada's comment on the "wannabes" in Mexico at the time who aspired to be everything French. The idea is that the rich may put on airs and wear their fancy clothes, but underneath they are just like you and me. In other words, death is the great equalizer, as we are all mortal.

Above and to the left are more beautiful clay Catrinas from Capula. The paper mache Catrina in the red dress below was made by an artisan in Patzcuaro, as was
the wood batea (plate) below.

The clay plates of Pancho Villa and Don Quixote were made by Fidel Avalos of Capula. The Hernandez Cano family of Zinapecuaro also makes fantastic burnished clay vases and platters with hand painted drawings inspired Jose Guadalupe Posada.

For more information about Dia de los Muertos and Jose Guadalupe Posada, or to purchase some of our folk art, go to: www.mexicobyhand.com

Una Canción para Capula...A Song for Capula

2009-09-20T21:44:00.001-07:00

Capula isn't the prettiest town I visit in Michoacán. Although it is surrounded by lush green hills during the rainy season, it isn't next to the Lake i.e. Patzcuaro, the plaza is not at all charming, and there's no place to eat while you're there. But we always spend a lot of time in Capula, because what it does have is a helluva lot of amazing art. Like these skeletons, calacas, or calaveras-- whatever you want to call them, by the master artisan, Alvaro de la Cruz. They are also known as Catrinas, but a Catrina is really a female skeleton in a fancy dress with a big hat with flowers and feathers.(I'll write more in my next post about her.) Capula, in case you didn't know, is not only a historic pottery village, but the capital of Mexico's clay catrinas. This year there were a lot of skeleton musicians for sale in Capula's artisan cooperative, and they were very, very cool. Like this mariachi woman on the right, and the cute little trio below on the left.

We also found some fantastic new calavera artisans this year, most notably Marcos Perez, a young guy who makes beautiful, extremely detailed black We also found some fantastic new calavera artisans this year, most notably Marcos Perez, a young guy who makes beautiful, extremely detailed black skeleton women. The indigenous woman below (often called a guarecita) is an example of just one we brought back to sell. Click on the photo and check out the hair and details on the clothing. Amazing!
And we also bought some fabulous pottery by my new favorite artisan couple, Demetrio and Raquel Gonzales. I discovered them in April, and was only able to bring back two pieces at that time. They have created some beautiful dishes and serving pieces with their lead-free glazes, and I am excited to share their work with you. (Demetrio is pictured below).

Please email or visit us at:
www.mexicobyhand.com for more information about our recent arrivals and upcoming sales events.

Magnificant Murals of Mexico

2009-09-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

It was quite amusing to hear Glenn Beck trying to dredge up the old controversy about Diego Rivera's mural at Rockefeller Center. I don't know if you even paid attention to the idiot, but his rant made me think of the wonderful times I personally have spent in front of Rivera's murals, and wish that everyone could have the pleasure. Last year, I saw that very mural, "Man at the Crossroads", in its reconstructed location at Bellas Artes in Mexico City. I also got to see the amazing, Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda) at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, a museum in the center of Mexico City which is entirely devoted to that mural and where one can sit on comfy couches and take it all in at one's leisure. That's the mural that features Frida Kahlo among numerous notable characters, along with the imaginary image created by Jose Guadalulpe Posada of La Catrina.

But one doesn't have to go to Mexico City to see amazing murals. One of my favorite places to take tourists in Morelia is the Palacio del Gobierno where Alfredo Zalce's murals cover the stairway (right) and practically the entire second floor...all a beautifully done history of Mexico, with special emphasis on Morelia, his birthplace. Above is part of the scene showing the Purepecha or Tarascan people in Michoacán.

If you go to Patzcuaro, you definitely have to check out the amazing Juan O'Gorman mural inside the public library off of the Plaza Chica.

For photos and more details of that:
http://knol.google.com/k/tracy-novinger/the-juan-ogorman-mural-in-patzcuaro/2uvydy8xw2i79/2#

I also enjoy seeing the stunning mosaic mural in the indigenous village of Santa Fe de la Laguna pictured above. It cries, "This community has said, enough!"
As we experience the racist, anti-immigrant, and all around hateful fear-mongering from the wing nuts on the right, I believe we all need to be shouting, ENOUGH!

For more images of murals and paintings by Rivera and Zalce:
www.diegorivera.com
www.zalce.com

Not My Michoacán

2009-08-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

I opened up my ever-thinner San Francisco Chronicle yesterday morning and there was yet another warning for Americans to "avoid unnecessary travel" to Michoacán, Mexico. It has been a week since we said goodbye to Michoacan, and I have been so busy unpacking our treasures and doing mundane chores like laundry and paying bills, that I had forgotten how scary it must have been for us to be there---NOT! Even the Chicano customs agent at the New Mexico border crossing (who works every day at the border about 40 miles west of Ciudad Juarez) raised an eyebrow and commented that we were "very brave". Oh really? Has he ever been to Michoacán? No, he hasn't, nor have most of the people who report on or freely offer their opinions on the danger. Yes, it is different now. The first day we woke up in Mexico on our drive down this year, we turned on our hotel's TV for a bit of news and were shocked to hear about about a nation-wide attack that took place the night before in several cities, including Morelia where we were headed. We knew the targets of the narcos' very organized attack were federal police-- not us-- but still we were a bit freaked. After discussing our options for a few moments, we decided to continue on with caution.
What we found when we arrived was a different scene from the very familiar Avenida Madero we were used to walking: dozens of military personnel carriers with young guys holding M16s driving down the street. Did it make us pause? Absolutely. But other than that, there was no time when we felt concerned about our safety, or for the safety of our tourists for whom we were responsible.
We all had a wonderful time exploring Morelia, Patzcuaro and surrounding villages, such as Cuanajo where we all had a great time with our favorite weaver, Natividad and her family. (see right)
This post is not intended to be a comprehensive report on the Mexican drug wars, its causes and the solutions, but merely a perspective to counteract the exaggerations we are seeing in the U.S. media around the dangers of traveling in Mexico. If someone were to ask me if it is safe to travel in California, I would have to say that depends...where and when? Same goes for traveling in Mexico. One must always be aware, exercise caution, and use common sense. Does it look like the folks below are in danger? Mexico By Hand Art and Culture Tour group #1 had a great time this July cooking up a meal of chiles en nogada in the beautiful kitchen at the Meson de San Antonio in Patzcuaro. Sharry Hickey (seated below on the right--check out her cooking blog) was head chef and Doug and Holly Barrett (current elem. art teacher and former culinary student) were her sous chefs.

The artisans are hurting as a result of the reports, because tourism is definitely down. We felt good about being there, doing what we can to let people know that we are with them, and feel solidarity with the overwhelmingly good people of Mexico who are living with uncertainty about what the recent events (including the swine flu outbreak) will do to their future ability to make a living. We bought beautiful art from talented indigenous artisans who are greatful for the opportunity to sell it to anyone who comes by. Unfortunately, they are not coming by. Except for a few "brave" souls like the intrepid, Daulton Bush who came on our second tour this summer. Here's what she had to say:

"At age 67, I have traveled extensively on numerous trips throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico. I feel more safe strolling the streets of Mexico, day or night, than I do in the US and Europe. NOT ONCE on my recent Mexico By Hand tour to Michoacan did I experience even the slightest tinge of fear. Several days were spent in Morelia, a fairly large city, and I found, without exception, the people I met to be warm, friendly and accommodating. I was equally "at home" in Patzcuaro, a charismatic village with a charming populace. I think fear can be our worst enemy, and if one allows it to overtake the desire to experience other cultures, then there is a great loss of adventure and sharing with humanity. Life is what we make it!!!"

If you'd like to read more of Daulton's comments on the Mexico By Hand Art and Culture Tour, go to our website: www.mexicobyhand.com and see her testimonial. And if you would like to help Michoacán's artisans and their families and enrich your own life at the same time, you can purchase their art by going to our e-store at: www.mexicobyhand.com.

Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

2009-07-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

It is a unique event...an amazing collection of some of the best folk art and crafts in the world. And we were there, exhibiting for the third time, and even with the sluggish economy, the crowds were huge! Teofila Servin (see photo) who embroiders scenes of life around Lake Patzcuaro and demonstrated in our booth, was thrilled with the entire event. Not only did she sell a lot of her work and that of the cooperative of women she represents, but she had the opportunity to meet and make friends with fellow artists from all over the planet.

The hammered copper by Roberto Castro Hernandez from Santa Clara del Cobre (below) was a big hit as well...we were sold out before noon on the second day. But we are buying more, which will be available for sale on our e-store at www.mexicobyhand.com.
For more photos and info. about the Folk Art Market, check out www.folkartmarket.org

Above, artist Teofila Servin signs her exhibition rebozo-- definitely the star of the collection.
For more info. on Teo and her work, see blog post of July 5th below. To purchase Teo's embroideries, check out www.mexicobyhand.com or write us at info@mexicobyhand.com

Embroidery from Lake Patzcuaro

2009-07-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Near Lake Patzcuaro, women embroider pictures like this one that can be framed or made into decorative pillows and clothing.
The themes of these embroidered “stories” originally came from ancient mythology of the Tarascan or Purepecha Indians, drawn from seals found in Tzintzuntzan. Gradually the women around Lake Patzcuaro began depicting traditional village dances such as the Dance of the Viejitos, and festivals such as Dia de los Muertos and Corpus Christi. The artisans also embroider scenes of women cooking, men fishing, and other scenes of daily life in a Purepecha village like this favorite of mine with a red background. The frame is really special too. It was made by a Purepecha artisan who carves wood trays and boxes and sells them in his shop near the main plaza in Patzcuaro. I asked him to make frames for the embroidered "pictures" and the result is two beautiful pieces of art in one. A lot of people buy these pieces and don't ever frame them, but I think they look even more stunning hanging on the wall framed and behind glass.

Meet Teofila Servin Barriga. She's an award winning artisan who is going to be demonstrating and exhibiting her work in our booth at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market July 10-12.
Teo’s desire to embroider began when she was only 10 years old living in the Santa Cruz rancho near Patzcuaro, Michoacán. She and her mother-- her teacher-- spent hours embroidering there. She has sold her pieces to collectors in Mexico, Europe, the United States, and Japan. In 2000 Teo helped to found a collective of 60 women embroiderers, and she continues to teach embroidery to young people at Michoacan’s Casa de las Artesanias (folk art center). Before being selected to participate in the Santa Fe show, she was invited to represent the embroiderers of Michoacan at a special exhibition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and to participate in the Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art exhibit in 2004.
When not exhibiting, Teo lives and works in Sanabria, which is near Ihuatzio, on the rode between Patzcuaro and Quiroga.

The photo on the left shows Teo selling her collective's work on the Plaza Grande in Patzcuaro during this past Semana Santa.
Check out www.mexicobyhand.com to see more Patzcuaro embroidery that is available for purchase.

Rebozos!

2009-06-23T11:13:00.001-07:00

Juana Cano Sebastian is the leader of a group of women in the remote Indigenous village of Turicuaro, Michoacan where they weave fine beautiful cotton rebozos, (shawls), napkins, and bedspreads on a backstrap loom. The photo on the left was taken when Juana delivered about three dozen rebozos to me that were ordered by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She traveled about an hour by combi (micro-bus) to meet us at our hotel, Meson de San Antonio in Patzcuaro, barefoot as usual, greeting me with her usual warm embrace. We placed our order with Juana and her daughters, who are also skilled weavers, a month before on our first visit to her village, which is located in a remote Michoacan valley that looked to us like our version of Paradise. Several friendly townspeople assisted us in our search for her house, and because it was the rainy season, the women were weaving inside. Normally the backstrap looms are tied to a tree in the patio. One of Juana's daughters is weaving below while two of Juana's grandchildren were running around outside.

Juana learned how to weave from her husband’s aunt, and then taught her daughter-in-law, Aurelia Martinez Vargas, and her daughters, Ana Luisa, Isidora, and Socorro. The women of Turicuaro, which has about 1,800 inhabitants, have been weaving fine rebozos similar to these for hundreds of year. The women soak the cotton yarn in a large tub of water mixed with “almidon” which is a corn starch. They rinse and dry it, and then form the yarn into balls. The Turicuaro weavers make rebozos with stripes, or solid color rebozos that are sometimes of the deshilado style, which means literally "un-threaded" but what we might call lacy or see-through. The intricate designs of flowers, bread, and chickens that are tied and created in the ends of the rebozos reflect the natural surroundings and daily life of the village. The work is delicate and beautiful ... it's mind boggling to me how they remember the pattern of the ancient designs.
I will be exhibiting a large selection of beautiful Turicuaro rebozos at the 2009 Santa Fe International Folk Art Market on July 11 & 12. For more info. on purchasing them, take a look at the TEXTILE pages of www.mexicobyhand.com.

Paper Mache Pirate Skeletons from Patzcuaro, Mexico

2009-06-12T09:45:00.001-07:00

This pirate guy on your left is a recent creation of one of our favorite artisans in Mexico who makes calaca or skeleton figures-- Jose Andres Chavez of Patzcuaro, Michoacán. He makes chefs, punk rockers, doctors, all kinds of sports figures (basketball, soccer, baseball, golf, and football), brides and grooms, and of course beautiful Catrinas.
He is the guy who made the amazing life-size figures (like the one on the right) that are the prominent decoration at the peña Colibri, the great folk music club in Morelia's Centro Historico. There you can hear quality musicians perform Cuban and Mexican music every night of the week, and see a fine performance of Michoacán's Dance of the Viejitos (dance of the little old men) around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

But that's not my point here. This creative artist, Señor Chavez, is always trying out new ideas. So he made the pirate last year when Pirates of the Caribbean starring Johnny Depp was so popular, but then right after that, we had some real modern day pirates who started to commit some horrible violent acts...so pirates didn't look all that much fun anymore. But now I find out that there's an annual Pirate Festival that takes place in June, right here in the S.F. Bay Area, about a half hour from where I live! Thousands of people go every year, and appear to be nuts for all things pirate. I assume that most of them believe that "the only good pirate is a dead pirate". Well, the guy above...is definitely dead. Should be a popular item for these folks' Day of the Dead celebrations, don't you think?

Mr. Chavez also made us some San Francisco Giants figures, player #25 to be exact. Barry Bonds skeleton figures--plus a lot more--are also available at www.mexicobyhand.com.

Embroidered Blouses

2009-06-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's a common sight in Michoacán. Women and girls sitting on small chairs,while they embroider beautiful blouses, called guanengos here in the Meseta Purepecha. They sit next to the burnished pots that are made in their village of Cocucho...hoping to sell them to tourists who flock to Uruapan during the Palm Sunday crafts fair (see post of April 12 for more) or to Patzcuaro for Day of the Dead.It's always a good time to go if you want to see a large selection of fine guanengos, and here are some samples.

The first one pictured below won a prize at the concurso, but the others are also quite beautiful.

The blouses below were made by women from Erongaricuaro and Tocuaro, two villages on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro. The women also embroider rebozos and beautiful shirts for men. Please contact me if you'd like to see more and if you're interested in making a purchase-- check out www. mexicobyhand.com to see our current selection available for sale.

Morelia's Cultural Attractions

2009-05-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

≈
Anyone who has visited Mexico City for any period of time is struck by the amazing number of quality museums available. Though "chilangos" (slang term used to refer to people from Mexico City, which is called D.F. for short) look down their noses at the "provincias", meaning anywhere outside of the Mexican capital, other large cities often have wonderful museums to visit. And unlike here in the U.S. it won't cost you much, in fact many are free! I highly recommend you check them out.
In addition to the permanent regional museums that have collections about Michoacán history (unfortunately minus English translations), every time I am in Morelia, I try to visit two cultural attractions that often have wonderful temporary exhibits. The first is the Palacio Clavijero, an important historical building which has recently been renovated. In the summer of 2008 we saw a fantastic exhibit that included numerous pieces from the extensive 60,000 piece Pre-Columbian art collection of Diego Rivera, that inspired him and often appears in some of his paintings and murals. I learned from that exhibit that there was a very strong connection between Michoacan's traditional folk art and Rivera's paintings. Of course his wife, Frida Kahlo also collected pieces from Michoacan for her kitchen. In April this year I saw an interesting exhibit at the Palacio Clavijero about the Indians of the Amazon, plus a large exhibit by Mexico City surrealist painter, Arturo Rivera. The Palacio was a former Jesuit college built in 1660 and is located on Nigromante near Ocampo, between the Jardin de las Rosas (one of my favorite spots in Morelia) and the biblioteca, the old library, which you should also check out.
My other favorite museum is the modern art museum, Museum de Arte Contemporaneo Alfredo Zalce (MACAZ). Zalce was a well-loved artist from Michoacan and you can see his extraordinary murals at the Palacio de Gobierno. I saw two beautiful exhibits this past April at this small museum located in the bosque across from the aqueduct and Plaza Morelos, or "el caballito" as the locals call the large statue of Morelos on horseback. On the first floor there was a show featuring a collection all by women artists, held over from Women's History month. There I discovered Fanny Rabel, a student of Frida Kahlo's who also worked with Diego Rivera and David Siquieros, another of Mexico's most recognized muralists. She was part of the group of artists known as "Los Fridos". Rabel, originally Rabinovich, was a Polish Jew who immigrated too Mexico in 1938. She died in 2008. I found a couple of images like this lithograph and the painting above on the internet, but really there is very little information on her.
On the second floor of the museum was a color photography exhibit called "Cuatro Rumbos", which refers to the four indigenous groups in the state of Michoacán. The collection won an award from UNESCO, will be going to France's Mornay Arts Center, and later will be published as a book. There are a large number of photos of Otomi and Masawa people living in the eastern part of the state, and who are less familiar to me. Some of the Masawa women (photos below) who live in the sierra-- where the Monarch butterfly sanctuary is -- weave beautiful pine needle baskets sold by Mexico By Hand. www.mexicobyhand.com

The Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Alfredo Zalce is open Tues.- Fri. 10-8, Sat/Sun 10-6.
Admission is free.
You can see a slide show of Ivan Holguin Sarabia's photos on the link below.
http://www.agenciainfomania.com/galerias/Cuatro%20rumbos,%20Atlas%20Etnografico%20de%20Michoacan%20de%20Ivan%20Holguin%20Sarabia/slides/IMG_8193.html

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

2009-05-07T15:44:00.001-07:00

FELIZ DIA DE LA MADRE!

Mother's Day in Mexico is always
May 10th.
Mothers and their children in both Mexico and the United States enjoy being together. In indigenous communities in Mexico, mothers teach their daughters how to weave, make clay pots, and of course to make tortillas. Grandmothers, mothers, and children spend a great deal of time working together.

Three generations of women from the village of Cocucho are pictured above, embroidering blouses called "guanengos", while they sell their clay pots at the Palm Sunday market.

(above) Juano Cano Sebastian with one of her daughters and two grandchildren-- from the weaving village of Turícuaro.
The rebozos of Turícuaro and guanengos from Cocucha can be seen and purchased on www.mexicobyhand.com.

Semana Santa in Michoacán

2009-04-12T13:43:00.001-07:00

Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) is the beginning of Michoacán's Easter/Holy Week celebration. For lovers of Mexican Arte Popular, there is no better place to be than at the Domingo de Ramos Concurso and Tianguis in Uruapan--the largest crafts fair in Latin America. And I was so happy to be there this year. I don't care for Uruapan and don't recommend you visit except on Palm Sunday, which in case you don't know is the week before Easter. But this event is unique. The concurso is a juried competition where large cash prizes are awarded to a few dozen artisans, and then the art-- the pieces that won plus the pieces that didn't-- is all for sale. The art gets better and better; museum quality pottery, copper, textiles and more. Both tourists and serious collectors were truly dazzled this year.

Then there's the tianguis, which is an Aztec word that basically means market, which runs for two weeks and is spread out across the two plazas in Uruapan. There you have a mixture of some cheap souvenir type stuff and some absolutely fantastic folk art and crafts offered by some of Mexico's great masters...who are there for you to meet.
(below) An artisan from San Jose de Gracias where they are famous for their clay pineapples.
Martina Navarro (right) is a master artist of Michoacan lacquerware called maque.

If you're there on Saturday morning the day before, there is a very cool parade of artisans from all the different pueblos. Potters often throw little clay pots to the crowd that lines the town's streets, and the appreciative crowd throws back confetti to honor the artists. It's a fun, feel good event.
Doug and I produced a video documentary back in 2004 on the Domingo de Ramos festivities for the Casa de las Artesanias, the event's sponsor.If you'd like to learn more, the DVD is available for cost on our website: www.mexicobyhand.com.

After shopping madness in Uruapan, I like to experience the religious side of the holidays and take in the Procesion de Silencio or Procesion de los Cristos -- which are solumn processions by candlelight through the streets of Morelia and Patzcuaro on Good Friday. You will see lots of Catholic rituals, which I don't fully understand, many of which appear to be unique to Mexico and its observance of Holy Week. Though one should be silent, picture taking is permitted.
Though thousands of Mexican families flock to the country's beaches, many head for Michoacan during Semana Santa. Patzcuaro, normally a pretty sleepy town except during Day of the Dead, was jumping this year on Good Friday. So if you go then, make sure you have a hotel reservation. I saw a number of folks looking for rooms to no avail. Patzcuaro also has its crafts booths lining the elegant Plaza Vasco de Quiroga, but it is smaller and less interesting than the one in Uruapan. Though there are lots of people--mostly Mexican tourists-- you can easily walk the cobblestone streets and enjoy all that picturesque Patzcuaro has to offer. Want to cool off and chill out? Head for the beach either before Palm Sunday or after Mexican vacationers go back to work. Then you'll have the water all to yourself.

But is it safe??

2009-03-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm off again to Mexico tomorrow, April 1st, and I'm sure you've heard some of the noise of late about the drug-related violence in that country. The U.S. State Dept. has issued a travel advisory, a Hollywood crew recently picked up and moved out of their film location in Culiacan, Sinaloa (didn't they know that is one of the top hot spots for the drug cartels?) and CNN's Anderson Cooper has been reporting from the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez all week. A lot of attention is finally being paid now to the situation by the U.S. government, with President Obama publicly addressing the issue and Hilary Clinton making a trip just this past week. If you are wondering whether you should cancel your plans to visit Mexico, my answer is NO, and I will be addressing that issue in the next few posts. For now, I suggest you take a listen to what Secretary of State Clinton had to say when she was interviewed recently by Ana Maria Salazar of Radio Universal.
http://videos.eluniversal.com.mx/audiogalerias/galeriasdet106.html
I read my morning paper today, and it reported that on one day in this country there were 2 savage attacks of violence perpetrated by 2 American men, resulting in the deaths of 2 children, 7 nursing residents and a nurse--all innocent people. Last week 4 police officers were killed closer to my home in Oakland. I'm curious, do other countries of the world issue travel advisories to their citizens warning them about visiting the United States?
Finally our country is recognizing the role it plays in the Mexican drug war; we provide the weapons and eager customers for illegal drugs. Maybe Americans can stop pointing fingers at others and try to tackle the issue of violence in our own society.
This is a complicated problem and there are no easy solutions.
hasta la proxima...

Contemporary Indigenous Political Art

2009-03-13T13:36:00.001-07:00

Ocumicho is a small indigenous village in Michoacán, located in what's called the "Meseta Purepecha." I picked up this piece by Ocumicho artisana Carmela Martinez Alvarez, made for the 2008 concurso (competition) in Ocumicho because, well, I had to. I had never seen anything like it. I've seen overt political messages from this village before, having previously bought some clay Comandante Marcos figures and a train carrying Zapatista revolutionaries with a sign saying "Mexico Armado" (meaning Mexico armed or in revolt). Mexican artists have always expressed their political views publicly in their art. But this two-sided creation about the struggle of desperate Mexicans attempting to illegally cross the border into the U.S. is truly unusual and amazing. If you look on the left, note the corpses in the desert and the women holding their infants. On the U.S. side (photo on the right) you have the border patrol looking up at the gringo with a bottle in one hand, reefer in the mouth, cell phone in his pocket, who is peeing on the Mexican sneaking under the fence. Thus we have the double meaning for the word "mojado", which literally means wet, but has been used to refer to illegal immigrants who have also been called "wetbacks".
Yes, the immigration issue to most Americans is complicated, but for poor Mexicans who face the choice of doing whatever they can to survive and feed their families, versus committing an illegal act by entering our country without permission (which they would never be able to get if they tried) they do what most of us would do if we were that desperate.
Carmen, and many women like her, have said goodbye to their sons who have left the village in recent years to go to El Norte. If the artists can't sell their work, many will give up and join them. When we were there at the competition, you could count the number of tourists, i.e. potential customers on one hand. So most of the artisans you see pictured below, picked up their pieces and went home with them--weeks or maybe even months of work--and nothing to show for it.
The good news is that people in the U.S. who see the fantastic work coming out of this and other communities in the region are excited by it. Let me know if you are too.

If you'd like to see more or buy clay figures from Ocumicho, or to learn how you can visit the village yourself, go to www.mexicobyhand.com.
Ocumicho artists anxiously waiting to hear names of the prize winning pieces.

Below are two young indigenas choosing to dress in modern short jean skirts, along with the traditional rebozo of their Purepecha culture-- representing a community at a crossroads.

To Market, To Market

2009-03-03T16:47:00.000-08:00

It's raining here in Northern California, hailing too. And freezing cold and snowing on the East Coast, which means most of us are thinking about summer. In my family, summer means eating lots of delicious fruit, and we got a head start on it this week when our local produce market received some wonderful sweet watermelons and mangoes from Mexico. Not exactly eating local, but it's our little guilty pleasure that helps us deal with missing Michoacán.
Ay, the mangoes--the Morelia markets carry like five different varieties-- all delicious and not expensive. I also miss Mexican papayas, and though one can sometimes find them here in the U.S., I'd rather wait until I can get a good one there. But folks, you have no idea what an avocado should taste like if you haven't had an avocado in Michoacán, which is by the way, the avocado capital of the world. And cheap?! Oh yeah. It's a staple, every day food, and we buy them by the dozen. Actually one pays by the kilo, usually about 10 pesos a kilo, which is like 50 cents a pound.
Markets are great fun, and a must if you go to visit Mexico. Especially the giant ones that take up several square city blocks. When we first arrived in Morelia we lived close to the medium size Mercado San Juan or La Revolucion (we preferred the second name, which was for the street it was on). I liked saying, " I'm going to the Revolucion", or "I got these from the Revolucion". But after about a month we found an amazing 200 year old house to rent on the other side of Morelia's Centro Historico. It became our home for almost a year, and we said goodbye to the Revolucion and came to know and love the gigantic Mercado de la Independencia. There are aisles of leather huaraches, belts and boots. Colorful piñatas, rows of gorgeous fresh flowers and an assortment of bird cages. But it's the food at the mercado...the beautifully ripe fruit and vegetables, the mounds of nuts and tubs of delicious local honey... and the amazingly fresh tortillas! We never learned how to make tortillas while we were there, because we could just walk the three blocks to find the señoras, who were waiting there to sell us a dozen of their perfect, handmade corn tortillas. Roll one up with a slice of avocado, and it's a little piece of heaven. Yumm.

Above is a market scene created out of clay by one of our favorite indigenous artists from the village of Ocumicho. The devil seems to have a thing for mangoes too!
Scroll down and click on the photos of more Ocumicho clay art, available from www.mexicobyhand.com. Yes, below is a tortilla making machine, which one sees in many neighborhoods and often at large markets.
Click below for two views of a chicken truck, by award-winning artist, Zenaida Rafael Julian.

Tequila Anyone?

2009-02-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

Agave fields in Jalisco, Mexico

There's tequila... and then there's tequila. I try not to be a snob, because there are a lot of folks who know way more than I do about agave, the plant that when cultivated, processed and aged with care produces a liquor as wonderful as any fine wine. In the past few years, I have learned a great deal about mezcal and tequila, and yes, some of my education involved a few sips of the stuff. But most of what I've learned was the result of the in-depth tours I took through two small boutique tequila distilleries in the state of Jalisco--which in case you weren't sure, is "tequila country". Yes, there is a town called Tequila, and I finally went there last summer. It's located about an hour west of Guadalajara, kind of a cute pueblo with cobblestone streets and a couple of small hotels. But though there are some great little family run distilleries, like the one we visited, La Alborada, which produces the amazing award-winning "El Gran Jubileo", I do NOT recommend you go. If you're driving south to Guadalajara and have the time, yes you should stop, tour and taste at La Alborada. The experience in Tequila feels like a cross between a typical Mexican bordertown and a tacky county fair (actually, don't get me wrong, I love a good county fair) but thanks to the tequila train that brings tourists to tour the giant factories of Sauza and Jose Cuervo this is not so good. Stalls line main street a few meters from the plaza, offering free tastes of watered down mixto (non-100% agave) in small plastic cups, and the few bars we found offer a disappointing selection of tequilas, served by young waiters who knew nothing about the town's most important product, and could care less.
It was especially disappointing compared to our previous trip to Arandas and Atotonilco, which are located a few km apart in the region known as Los Altos -- further east on the way to Michoacán. Doug and I have been there three times now, and found it a very cool rest stop on our way back to the U.S. and a fun place for the Mexico By Hand Art and Culture Tequila Adventure. Atotonilco, a clean and friendly little town, boasts the quality big guys, Patron and Don Julio. We found both of them closed to us when we arrived without an appointment. No big deal. Don Julio (a personal favorite of mine) was easy to find and was located just a few blocks from our very comfortable hotel. The thing is, hardly any tourists go to this town looking for tequila tasting, so they weren't prepared for us. No tour information at our hotel, and when we were directed to the "Tourist Office" we found it to be the town's government building and police headquarters. So remember... this is Mexico. The chief of police, after discovering that he couldn't find a decent map of the town, told us to get in our car and proceeded to give us a police escort to Patrón. I kid you not. But Patrón said "hoy no es posible" (today is not possible) and we continued our quest after striking out twice now. We finally found what we had been waiting for, on the road just before Arandas near La Trinidad there is a billboard with an arrow pointing to Tequila Espolon. And that was it!

Doug and Peggy in front of Tequila Espolon oak barrels

We drive about 2 kilometers down the bumpy road to the most wonderful experience anywhere for tequila lovers. Friendly, knowledgeable, generous-- these words aren't enough to describe the amazing people who work at Tequila Espolon. We received a private 2 hour tour and were invited afterwards to stay and eat with the employees. And the tequila? Some of the best you will ever drink. http://www.tequilaespolon.com for more info. on all of the awards they've received at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and International Wine & Spirits Competition...plus they have photos and a explanation of the tequila making process. Below you can see how the jimador digs up the piñas (on left) which is where the agave nectar comes from. The piñas, which are extremely heavy, are sliced and steamed (right) and the "jugo" is extracted and sent via tubes to tanks where there are various steps involved in fermenting and processing a perfectly pure product.

The agave plants can be seen and amazing tequila tasted by joining an intimate tour with Doug and Peggy www.mexicobyhand.com . If you speak Spanish and want to venture out on your own, here are some suggestions for staying in Atotonilco:
Hotel: Hotel Real de Cervantes, calle Dr. Espinoza, across from the market (reservations not necessary) doubles $40-$55
Breakfast: Hotel Portales de Vergel, delicious eggs & licuados $3.00-$5.00
Bar: Chatazo's on Calle Colon near the plaza. Best bar in Mexico! Complimentary healthy botanas (snacks), low priced quality tequila served with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Casual and "women friendly", usually musicians show up and play for tips. If you're really hungry, the taqueria across the street serves up cheap and tasty grub.

A Geography Lesson

2009-02-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

A friend asked me recently what is my favorite time of year in Michoacán, and I had to say that it's when the mirasoles are in bloom. What a surprise that was. It happens in September when the rains are pretty much over--though now due to climate change the rainy season sometimes lasts into October and even the beginning of November. We were driving in the eastern part of the state, off to experience the hot springs in the Sierra which are called Los Azufres (it means "the sulphurs") and to find the little factory where they make some dishes we wanted to buy, near an old silver mining town called Tlalpujahua. That's a long story, but I'll just say that it was quite an adventure trying to find the place, especially since we had to stop about a dozen times and ask folks for directions. Of course we had to pronounce the name of the town so people would know where we wanted to go...and for some reason we had difficulty with it. Go on, you try it. Now it rolls off my tongue like it's nothing.

Anyway...we drove through the most beautiful countryside, often the only ones around for miles, passing by these gorgeous fields of pinkish purple flowers called mirasoles that I believe we call cosmos. The sky was bright blue, the air warm and delicious...it was heavenly. And then we saw the girasoles (left) and that's when I fell in love. (*click pix to enlarge)

No, Mexico is not all hot desert. Michoacán has pine forests and rolling green hills (especially during and after the rainy season) similar to what one sees in Tuscany or closer to my home in Napa Valley, California. If you go to Morelia and Patzcuaro in the summer you should not only have an umbrella but a couple of sweaters, and in December and January, you'll want your flannel pajamas. It's about a mile high, that's why. And if you are lucky enough to go to the Michoacán coast to enjoy its 200 miles of virgin beaches, it will look something like the picture below. Perfect temperatures between November and April, but too hot for most of us in the summer months. Really, you don't want to go then. But right now in February? When most of the world is suffering blizzards and freezing temperatures...it is sunny and warm in Maruata, Michoacán (below). For more info on tours:www.mexicobyhand.com.

Mexican Crafts 101

2009-01-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

There really is no good translation for the Spanish word artesania. I buy and sell artesania and I still don't know what to call it in English. Some people use the term handicrafts, which I don't like because it sounds like housewives making doilies. I often use the word folk art, but that only describes some of what I am talking about (see my post about Milagros). Is a perfectly exquisite hammered copper vase that takes years of experience, a lot of talent and two months to make really "folk art"? In Mexico they sometimes use the term "arte popular", as in the Banamex collection and book, Maestros Grandes del Arte Popular or Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art, a great book if you can find it. If you want a nice overview of Mexican folk art and enjoy looking at beautiful photographs, this is a good place to start. The other thing is that when you travel in Mexico you might see signs advertising "artesania" but you need to be aware that sometimes the word is referring to what we would call souvenirs. Souvenirs are NOT what we are talking about here. And you can usually tell that's what is meant as soon as you take a look. Anything that is mass-produced with the name of the place written on it is a souvenir. What I'm talking about are handmade items that reflect the culture and traditions of a village. Usually one person makes the piece from start to finish, and he or she learned the process from a parent or other family member. The colors or form might evolve over the years, but the basic technique or style comes from the village or tribe's tradition, like the clay plates from the village of Capula in Michoacán in the photos below. The plate on the left features a traditional border pattern and a technique where the artist paints hundreds of tiny dots called punteado or "pointillism". On the right you can see the traditional border design, but this contemporary "folk art" piece features the artist, Fidel Avalos' interpretation of a Jose Guadalupe Posada drawing of Don Quixote.

Okay, so you want to be sure that the piece you're thinking about buying is quality handmade folk art. You should start by asking who made it. If they tell you they did and they give you their name, and there aren't dozens of the same thing at every other stall in the market, then it's probably true. Better yet, go watch the artisans working in their workshops. It is so special to be able to see the creation of a piece of art that you bring home and can later look at years after your trip. It's like bringing a piece of the artist and his culture home with you. Don't be picky and expect a piece of handmade art to be perfect either. That's the charm of buying something that was made by a human being rather than by a machine. If you love it, if it brings you joy and makes you smile, then you should bring it home to live with you so it can continue to give you pleasure.
Now, it is perfectly legitimate to buy Mexican crafts or folk art in a gallery or store, or even from a website (like mine) but how do you determine what is a quality piece and what isn't? Well to start, if the vendor can tell you what pueblo or state it came from and how it was made, that's important information. It's even better if you can see some photos. Sometimes, but not always, you'll find an artist's signature, but in Michoacán, most artists don't sign their work because it goes against the Purepecha Indian view that their traditional art is a community effort. If you are buying a piece of pottery you will use to serve food, make sure that it is sin plomo or lead-free. If the vendor doesn't say so, then assume it has lead. Usually the cheap stuff at the markets in Mexico and often things sold on eBay contain lead. Buying textiles, which I love, is a whole other subject and we'll have to talk about that another time.

I bought the oval clay plate on the right many years ago-- and it still makes me happy when I see it hanging on my kitchen wall! It was the first piece we bought from Fernando Arroyo, award- winning artist from Capula. You can see more of Fernando's recent work on our website: www.mexicobyhand.com...where you can also find out more about how to visit his and other artisan workshops in Michoacán on our Mexico By Hand Art and Culture Tour.

Fernando Arroyo (right) is now working with lead-free glazes, thanks to the work of Barro Sin Plomo, a wonderful group that is helping Mexican artisans produce and market lead-free pottery. You can find out more about them and check out their catalog at: www.echerypottery.com.

Purepecha artists Elena Felix and Bernardina Rivera make burnished clay pots at their home workshop in the village of Huancito. They learned their art from their mother (top photo) and are featured in the book, Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art.

"Does Anybody Here Speak English?"... Studying Language Abroad

2009-01-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

I am often asked about where to go to learn Spanish. I wish I was asked more often, before good people go off and make bad decisions. There are a lot of language schools out there, and not all of them know what they're doing. But first, before I continue with my advice I need to get something out of the way--and this is VERY IMPORTANT-- do NOT go to Cuernavaca. You've heard that thing about location, location, location? Well it matters. Believe me, you do not want to Cuernavaca-- or "Cuernacaca"-- as my family calls it. Why do so many people continue to go there? Because they don't know better, because there are a lot of schools there, because their school principal advised it, because they read that Cuernavaca is the "city of eternal Spring", and who doesn't like Spring? At one time it was a pretty town, popular among Mexico City residents who wanted to get away for a peaceful weekend. But ever since the Mexico City earthquake, Cuernavaca has grown into a sprawling, large city with very little charm. Really. I had to spend a month there, and it sucked. There's no real culture and very little to do except go "clubbing" at night. That means that it's still very popular among the college set who convince their parents to fork over the money for them to "study Spanish" and spend their time instead studying cheap tequila shots and local hangover cures. Actually, I personally love tequila, but when I drink it, it's 100% agave and there IS no hangover. But we'll talk about that on a later post. So unless you are into the club i.e. the disco scene, don't go to Cuernavaca.
So, you want to study Spanish.... That's great! As a teacher with a specialty in second language teaching, I can tell you that learning a language is not easy and can take years.But that said, it is extremely rewarding and well worth the effort. So if you want to do it, I applaud you, and suggest that the best way is to go study abroad in a place where you would like to spend time. So research both the place and the school. I strongly recommend living with a family, which is called a "homestay", and don't share a room with another English speaker. You want to be forced to use your Spanish, even if you don't know how. Trust me on this. If you room with a friend, you guys will just talk to each other and you will lose most of the benefit of studying in a foreign country. I also suggest going to a city or town where there aren't a lot of English speaking tourists for the same reason as above.
As to the school, if you are not an expert in language teaching then it's difficult to figure out what is a good program and what isn't. There should be both grammar and conversation classes, and hands-on activities like cooking or dancing are nice too. Just make sure the classes are done in Spanish, otherwise what's the point? The high school student above is being taught to make a clay plate by an artisan who is speaking to her only in Spanish. A natural way to learn some new vocabulary! If you can, ask them about their philosophy or methodology. If they say something about the Natural or Communicative Approach, that's a good thing. If students spend all their time reading literature or working through a grammar textbook, I would look elsewhere.
So, where should you go? Morelia is a great place to learn Spanish; it's real Mexico, with few foreign tourists, and there's much to do. Plus there are two good language schools there. I recommend the Centro Cultural de Lenguas or CCL, because I know it personally. Excellent teachers, good program, and it's located in a lovely building that was originally a house, smack in the middle of the Centro Historico, the historic downtown area. They even have a small courtyard where you can hang out and enjoy a cappuchino. Yes, Morelia has great coffee too, which is another plus in my book. Both individual and group classes are available for any length of time. I recommend doing a 2 or 3 week program. You can check out the school at www.ccl.com.mx and feel free to write if you have questions. Andale!

The Amazing Copper of Santa Clara del Cobre

2009-01-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of people make their living as copper artisans in the town of Santa Clara del Cobre in Michoacán, Mexico. Every step of the process of transforming the raw copper material to a finished piece is done entirely by hand. Not only is each piece made by hand, but the process is extremely laborious, in many cases requiring a full month or more of daily work. The process consists of repeated heating and hammering the raw copper first into a mass, and then into the desired shape, finally ending with the process of a hammered finish. The work requires “talento y esfuerza”--not only skill, but great strength and endurance, as it may take hundreds of thousands of hammer blows in order to complete one large piece.

The indigenous people of Michoacán were working with copper long before the arrival of the Spanish. The revered archbishop Vasco de Quiroga, attempting to foment commerce in the region, urged the coppersmiths of Santa Clara to make cazos, or large cooking pots. These pots are still used for cooking today all over Mexico. Below is a picture of a huge one that is being used for making a special atole at the festival of Corpus Christi in the village of Tzintzuntzan.

The copper mines played out about fifty years ago, and today most of the 10,000 tons of copper that comes into Santa Clara each week arrives in the form of recycled copper wire and cable from electric and telephone companies. The price has been going up and up, and it is getting harder to find the raw material. This past summer, my husband Doug and I brought down some wire and leftover pieces of copper pipe, donated by a friend of ours. Roberto, our favorite copper artisan, was thrilled.
In 1946 a group of local artisans in Santa Clara del Cobre organized the first Copper Fair, which continues to be held every year in August. The fair, which features numerous cash prizes to winning artisans, has helped to revitalize the industry by encouraging the production of decorative pieces such as jugs, vases and centerpieces. The copper artisans and their work are celebrated as the center of this community's economic and cultural life, and the feria features music, really fun parades (with the copper princesses as pictured below) and the awarding of prizes by Michoacán's governor. Winning pieces are on display in the town's copper museum and are available for purchase. If you like copper art, this is a good time to visit.
Fine quality decorative copper pieces as well as copper cooking pots (cazos) are personally selected by us and can be purchased in the United States from Mexico By Hand. We also lead small tours to visit artisan workshops, so people can see the copper process, and then buy directly from the artisan.

photo below: Tour visits workshop of copper artisan, Ignacio Punzo, who is featured in the Banamex collection,"Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art".

But if you aren’t able to go to Mexico, Doug produced a 10 minute video for Michoacán’s Casa de las Artesanias on the copper artisans of Santa Clara del Cobre, which is available on DVD and can be purchased for cost on our website: http://mexicobyhand.com/item.jsp?category=5004

Milagros

2009-01-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

This wooden jaguar mask is encrusted with little milagros-- or miracles in English. We all need to believe in miracles. Maybe you don't believe in the virgin birth of Jesus or the Hanukah legend that tells us that the temple oil lasted eight days instead of just one, but let's face it, there are miracles all around us if we allow ourselves to see them. The birth of a baby is a miracle. The fact that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States is a miracle. And it is going to take a miracle for the Israelis and Palestinians to stop fighting each other. What the heck, nothing else is working right now.

The Patzcuaro artisan who made this mask also makes crosses, hearts, and picture frames all covered in milagros...which are really nice examples of quality contemporary Mexican folk art. More milagro art can be seen on www.mexicobyhand.com.

So here's the scoop on milagros:
A believer will make a vow to a saint or to a sacred object, and later they will make a pilgrimage to the site of a shrine or church and take a milagro there and leave it as a sign of gratitude and devotion. People also carry milagros for protection and good luck. Milagros can represent specific objects, persons, or even animals, or they might represent concepts that might be symbolized by the object represented in the milagro. For example, a head might represent a person, the mind or the spirit, or a physical condition such a headache. A milagro of a leg might be used to cure some condition associated with a leg - such as arthritis. Or, it might refer to travel, the leg implying walking. Similarly, a heart might represent a heart condition that one is praying for a cure, or as a thank you for answering the prayers of the lovelorn.
If you go to the basilica in Patzcuaro, as in other churches in Mexico, you will see milagros being used and the evidence of something called a "manda”. This is where a person will ask a favor of a saint, and then, in order to repay the favor after it has been granted, he or she makes a pilgrimage to the shrine of that saint, and and leaves a milagro pinned to an object of devotion. If you go to Patzcuaro, look for them just after you enter the basilica on the left side, plus look at the little messages of thanks people have written on a piece of paper. Really interesting, especially if you can read Spanish. You can buy some milagros for a few pesos at one of the stalls right outside where they sell quite a fun assortment of kitchy religious objects. You can stock up on your Jesus night-lights there too.
Try to go in the morning--for breakfast-- when the corundas are hot and fresh. Corundas are the Michoacán tamales that are made in corn leaves, rather than the usual husk. They bathe them with green salsa and crema (yes, you should get it) and they are VERY filling. A corunda and a cup of hot atole (a corn-based hot drink) flavored with canela (cinnamon), tamarindo or guayaba (guava) to go with, will cost you 20 pesos, or about $2. I like the guayaba best and I usually go to Angela's table pictured here. If you're lucky, as you eat your food and take in the sights and sounds of this wonderful town around you, you'll be serenaded by an old street musician who plays a funky, well-worn guitar and sings old Spanish love songs with an amazing soulful voice. There's nothing like it.

Prospero Año Nuevo

2008-12-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This photo actually wasn't from New Years Eve, but was taken at one of the dozens of fireworks shows we've seen over the illuminated cathedral in Morelia. Amazing to us, but the folks who have lived in the city all their lives don't even bother to look up, fireworks are so common. I think this (and the stiltwalkers below) was for Morelia's birthday celebration-- which is in May. Now, that's a street party. But every Saturday night they close Avenida Madero, the main street that fronts the cathedral, and put on an
illumination ceremony with fireworks.
A must-see, which I still love to do every time I am in town. I went during Semana Santa this past year, surrounded by the throngs of Mexican tourists who flock to Morelia during vacation weeks. It was amazing. I commented to my friend Ramses, who has lived in Morelia his whole life, except when he is traveling to Europe, how incredible it is to be at a free public event at night where people politely maneuver through such a huge crowd. No one shoves, no one gets out of a line, and there's not a cop in sight.

As we prepare to say good-bye to 2008, an incredible year, I recall my New Years five years ago, when the family and I left Morelia for a road trip all the way to Guatemala. We spent Jan. 1st, 2004 visiting some small Mayan villages near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. We also visited the ruins of Palenque that trip, and swam in the gorgeous waters of Agua Azul and the waterfalls at Misol-Ha which are nearby. Highly recommended.

So as I reminisce about adventures of past years, I look forward with great anticipation to future travels and discoveries. What will 2009 bring? Best wishes and happy trails.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's a Menorah, made by a Purepecha artist in San Jose de Gracia-- the same village where they make the clay pineapples.
I had looked for years before I found this one with the correct number of candle holders. And I easily found candles here to use with it to celebrate Chanukah this year.
Several people have coveted this piece, and everyone has the same question: was the artist intentionally making a menorah? Though there are Mexican Jews, I have yet to find any in Michoacán. I will work on finding the answer to this question.
Should I order more from this artisan?
Happy Hanukah!

New Beginnings

2008-12-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

As the year winds down and we look forward to a brighter 2009, I am full of hope for the future. I am excited for the inauguration of the new U.S. president, and for the Mexico By Hand Art and Culture Tour in the summer of '09. And so I begin this blog with "New beginnings"...my desire to share my love of Mexico: the art, culture and the people. I hope to share information, provide encouragement, and maybe offer a bit of inspiration to those who are curious about getting to know what I call "real Mexico". Perhaps the election of President Obama will not only bring hope to those immigrants struggling in the U.S. but move us towards improved relations with Mexico. Perhaps this multicultural man who is now our leader will be a role model for many Americans to visit the Third World, or maybe even learn another language. How is it that so many in this country-- even those just a few hours drive away-- never consider visiting our neighbor to the south? Or if they do, it's only to the gringo-filled resorts where everyone they see, including those who serve them, speak English so that they are spared the discomfort of having to negotiate a different culture and language. Why is it that so many of my fellow travelers will spend thousands of dollars to travel half-way around the world to "exotic" destinations, where they are one of a zillion tourists to visit that country that year, when they have never even considered venturing beyond the usual packaged tour locations in Mexico. You want exotic? Check out Michoacán, baby. It's got it all: natural beauty (mountains, beaches, lakes, volcanoes) indigenous people who still speak their native language, the most beautiful traditional crafts in all of Mexico, the amazing colonial architecture, nightlife, restaurants, and culture of Morelia its capital city, plus the warm and generous people who live there.
It starts with the people, and especially those who make the art. After living in Michoacán for a year, I became hooked. I go back twice a year-- to buy crafts and folk art and to lead small tours in the summer. I know the best places to eat, the nicest hotels, and the must-see historical sites. But I REALLY know a lot about the amazing art in Michoacán...so I'll be talking a lot about that here. I've worked as a journalist, love photography, and because I am a teacher by profession, I am compelled to share my knowledge with those who are curious.
I hope that's you.