HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

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

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??

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

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

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?

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

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.