Real Mexican Hospitality

August, 2012.  We are traveling in Mexico, searching out fine artisan crafts for Chiripa.  We are now in the beautiful colonial city of Puebla.

Puebla Street

Miguel Paredes has a lot of skeletons in his closet: amusing and mischievous little skeletons made of clay and wire. The skeletons appear in all kinds of garb, and act out all kinds of scenes from ordinary (and not so ordinary) life. The skeletons remind us, in a fatalistic but most humorous way, of ourselves. They are big favorites at Chiripa. Miguel is constantly inventing new things, like this skeleton Jack-in-the-Box:

Miguel with Skeleton Jack-in-the-Box

Miguel has a whimsical sense of humor and a love of invention. He also has a deep love of art and humanity, and a profound appreciation of Mexican culture and traditions. He has painted the walls of his house with beautiful murals, representing religious, historical and traditional themes. The house is filled with fine artisan crafts from all over Mexico.

Miguel, with small friend, at home

Miguel lives in Puebla, Mexico, with his charming wife Liliana and his son Daniel. The family operates a tiny retail shop in the city, where they sell skeleton figures and other items made in the equally tiny workshop behind their house. Miguel and Daniel are the artisans (Daniel, who just turned 20, is also studying ceramics and painting under a renowned master craftsman from the village of Azucar de Matamoros). Liliana does the many other tasks needed to manage the family business and household.

Daniel, Miguel and Liliana

On our last day in Mexico, Miguel, Liliana and Daniel invited us to their home for a special seasonal meal of Chiles en Nogada (chiles with a special filling made of nuts and other ingredients, and covered with bright red pomegranate seeds). Liliana prepared the special meal to mark a saint’s feast day, as well as the 20th birthday of son Daniel the following day. We were honored to share in this special family feast.

Chiles en Nogada

The mid-afternoon meal began with a savory bowl of fresh home-made vegetable soup, then on to the rice course and the Chiles en Nogada. This special recipe is made only at this time of year, when the chiles and other fresh local ingredients are available. We were already stuffed when we moved on to a dessert of special fruit gelato, homemade custard tarts with chocolate and fresh fruit, and then fresh local plums and coffee. It was all we could do to stand up from the table.

Homemade custard tarts with chocolate and fresh fruit

Miguel and Daniel were recently invited to demonstrate their work at the Day of the Dead exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. They were eager to pick up their visas in the nearby town of Cholula that afternoon, so we went with them. They took the opportunity to show us around Cholula, which is reputed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas.

Cholula has many churches, and one of them is built atop an enormous pre-Columbian pyramid that is reputed to be bigger than the great pyramids of Egypt. In 1519, Cortes destroyed Aztec temples here, and put the city to the sword as part of his campaign to conquer Moctezuma’s empire. 

Cholula church built in 1552

We visited one of the churches built by the Spaniards in 1552, shortly after a disease epidemic had decimated the indigenous population. Miguel pointed out a whipping post, just outside the church, used to inflict punishment on native residents who failed to conform. This Spanish church had already been standing for more than 70 years when the Pilgrims landed in North America. But the indigenous American community had called this place home for far, far longer. - JM

Amiable guides, ancient place

A Black Pottery Storm

August, 2012 - We are traveling in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, looking for unique artisan crafts for Chiripa.  August is the rainy season in this mountainous area.

It is late afternoon when the old bus drops us at the village of San Bartolo de Coyotepec.  From the main road we walk to the Doña Rosa pottery workshop.  Doña Rosa, a Zapotec woman, created a special black pottery process for which Oaxaca is world famous.  Although Doña Rosa is long deceased, her pottery tradition lives on.

Dark clouds threaten as we enter the workshop, and thunder rolls through the valley.  The first raindrops splatter tentatively in the dust.  Then the sky gives way, and the rain pounds the earth. 

Rain Falls at the Pottery Workshop

We wander in comfort under the tile roof, sidestepping leaks and listening to the hypnotic splash of water in the courtyard.  We have the place to ourselves, and with the storm raging we are in no hurry to leave.  We take time to select our favorite pieces for Chiripa.  The prices are reasonable, as you will see.  We arrange for packing and shipping, then wait for the rain to relent.  When the storm lets up a bit, we make a run for the bus stop.

We try to jump the muddy stream that is now rolling down the street, but we fall short and go in over our shoes.  A bicyclist pedals downstream, leaving a wake behind him.  By the time we reach the main road we are drenched.  Fortunately, a bus from the villages to the south is just pulling up.  We wave it down, and straggle aboard.  We ask the fare, but the driver just waves us in.  We can pay later, he says.

Pedaling Downstream

Friendly passengers in well-worn clothing nod a greeting as we bump down the aisle.  The driver grinds through the gears, and the bus roars toward the city of Oaxaca.  A crucifix swings from the rearview mirror. - JM

Crafty Customer; DIY Nichos

The following information was sent to Chiripa by Melinda O.  Melinda attended the Nicho "show and tell" session hosted at Chiripa on June 21st. I encouraged participants to share any results from the time we spent together. Here's what Melinda sent:

This is one of the Nichos I made following the workshop in June. I painted it blue, dry brushed it with bronze, glued pearlized mosaic tiles to the interior, and then decorated with a collection of angel jewelry and talismans given to me at the time of my hospitalization 9 years ago. I added a few other bits of jewelry and glass drops to round out the composition. I call it “Angels Among Us” and it reminds me of the kindness of others. It brings positive energy with it. It’s no masterwork, but I like it and am happy with it as a first effort.

This is my second nicho. I intend it as a sort of “house blessing” and kept it pretty simple. I didn’t paint it all, just glued mirrored mosaic tiles (small ones), small mirrored glass heart beads, clear glass drops, and a large red glass heart bead into the interior.  It’s not fancy, but it did turn out pretty much the way I hoped it would. -MO

Thank you Melinda for sharing your nicho photos and explanations. I think they are wonderful! "Angels Among Us" IS a masterpiece that comes from the heart.

If others would like to create your own nichos, stop by the shop. We have a good selection of plain tin nichos and an information sheet to help you get started. You can also find a small selection online.

Merecemos Una Cerveza

It's funny how words or phrases become triggers for a person or a group. The trigger from this last trip was Merecemos una cerveza (We deserve a beer.). That phrase has popped into conversation many times since Estela used it in February at her talavera pottery workshop called Liceagui in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico.

The whole statement was, Despues de tanto trabajo, merecemos una cerveza. (After so much hard work, we deserve a beer.) We had arrived late in the day on a Saturday. Both Estela and her husband Gerardo were at the workshop. We quickly set to work selecting already-made pieces and ordering other popular pieces to be made for us. As we set about on our quest, Estela started writing the order. She's quite fast (and accurate). But, it still took a long time to hand write the six pages of the invoice.

Estela, Gerardo and their daughter Maria

  

At one point we were looking for a large chicken planter and Estela thought she had one in the adjoining production workshop. We had never been in that building and I trouped over with her to check it out (without my camera). There we found the sought-for planter amid piles of rocks and molds and fired pottery. A small machine was in constant motion. Estela explained that the rocks (see photo below) were being agitated to create the clay that is used to form the pottery. It would take at least a couple hours to turn the rock into usable clay. We marveled at the many hours of manual and machine labor needed to produce the colorful pieces we sell at Chiripa.

The rock that gets agitated and dissolved to form the clay for the pottery.

It was evening by the time we finished our selection and Estela was totaling the pages and the final invoice. She then offered us a beverage and said, Despues de tanto trabajo, merecemos una cerveza. Who could refuse! -kl

New Artist: Gregorio Juarez Sanchez

Thoughts and photos from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Chiripa: a happy accident. We often say that that is how we meet our artists. This time, it was a little more complex, but, also a CHIRIPA. I asked folks in our monthly newsletter for ideas for our upcoming buying trip to Mexico. Someone posted the message on a San Miguel de Allende message board and I got an email from an expat living in San Miguel who is neighbors with Gregorio Juarez Sanchez. She sent enough information and a photo to make me want to track down Gregorio.

We wandered around some neighborhoods until we found his address, and Chiripa! he was at home!

Gregorio began his career as a craftsman at the age of fourteen, working as an apprentice to Juan Bautista until his mentor's death. Gregorio's work is finely crafted and painted metal sculptures of animals and bugs and birds. He is a gracious man who was proud of his work, but, also proud of his other profession as a waiter. He showed us photos and autographs from famous people he's served.

We especially like the whimsical nature of the creatures and the attention to detail. We have Gregorio's work on display at Chiripa now. Stop in to see it.  -kl

Around Lake Patzcuaro-Santa Fe de la Laguna

Photos and thoughts from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

We don't often get to the far north side of Lake Patzcuaro. But, in the small village of Santa Fe de la Laguna one can find some of the most beautiful and contemporary-looking lead-free pottery. It is the work of Nicholas Fabian and his wife Maria del Rosario. On this trip we arrived to find no one home. And then, a Chiripa (happy accident): Maria came walking down the street and welcomed us into their home. 

 Maria wearing a traditional Purépecha rebozo 

in front of a wall of newly made pottery.

After we had selected the new product for Chiripa I asked Maria to step into their courtyard for another photo. To me, she projects pride and honor. She and Nicolas were part of the first group of potters in that area that recognized the need to switch to lead-free production techniques. She is a proud of their indigenous heritage and confident in their art. She is the one that makes the forms and Nicholas is the one who etches the designs. They are a partnership and both names are etched on the bottom of all pieces.

We were sad to miss Nicolas on this trip, but we learned that he now has access to email when he goes into town. Next time, we'll plan ahead.

A true team: Maria del Rosario and Nicholas Fabian photographed in 2008.

-kl

Around Lake Patzcuaro-Manuel Morales

Thoughts and photos from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Some of our most amazing and memorable experiences traveling in Mexico come from visiting workshops in small villages. The artists are in their natural element.

Master potter Manuel Morales lives and works in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, Mexico. Using pre-columbian themes and geometrical designs, he has managed to combine images from his indigenous Purepecha heritage and influences from the greater world of art history. His workshop is the building that was the first hospital in that area. Manuel's work has won numerous national prizes and is coveted in the U.S. and Europe. Chiripa feels fortunate to have several new pieces on the way.

Our current (4/12) remaining piece can be found on the Chiripa website.

We first met Manuel when visiting his mother, also a potter. Ofelia Gamez died about a year ago; a great loss to the community and Chiripa.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new shipment from Mexico. Sign up for the Chiripa mailing list (lower right corner of homepage) if you would like email notifications. -kl

How We Bring Beauty to You-Part 2

Photos and thoughts from the 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Continued from the last post. . .
We eventually regrouped, gulped down some liquid yogurt for lunch, used the baño, and hailed a cab on the street. We told the cab driver we wanted to go to the village of Capula, a center of indigenous ceramic craft. The driver whistled, scrunched up his face and calculated: “Pues, es muy lejos...” (translation: “it’s very far” -- i.e., “it’s going to cost you a bundle”). We agreed on an estimated fare, jumped into the cab and headed out. On the way we passed miles of stone fences, laboriously constructed over the centuries – each stone lifted and set by strong brown hands. The fences looked like they had always been there.
 
In Capula, after bumping down many wrong streets and asking many puzzled bystanders, we finally rediscovered the home of the Juan Rosas family (whom we had not seen for 2 years).  Their son Juan (“Chino”), a brilliant ceramic painter who has won national awards, opened the door. Chino recognized us immediately and sent word to his father, who was in the market. Juan ran the entire distance, and leaned against a wall to catch his breath before he could speak to us. His wife Lourdes joined us later:  “Qué Milagro!” (“What a Miracle”) she said. “We have been thinking about you, and wondering why you hadn’t been back. But now here you are!” Her beautiful smile spread from ear to ear.

 Lourdes with her three sons: 
Brian (Koby), Juan Jr (Chino) and Misael (translator and accountant)

We bought some fine ceramics from the Juan Rosas family, while others gathered around to watch. The family will pack and deliver the ceramics to a stone carver in another village. The stone carver (with whom we had already placed an order), will carry the stone and ceramic pieces to Guadalajara in a pickup truck (we hope they get there). In Guadalajara, crafts from our many other Mexican stops will be consolidated in similar fashion for export to Chiripa.  The daisy chain process takes months.

In Capula, we also bought some delicate ceramic Catrinas from other sellers. These had to be wound in toilet paper and bubble wrap, carefully placed in a box, and carried with us to Patzcuaro. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the taxi driver was getting nervous.  Finally, we were ready. 

The stone carvings in Tzintzuntzan seem to grow up from the ground.

On the way back to Patzcuaro, we stopped to see the stone carver and tell him about the ceramics shipment that would be coming his way. He was eating a light meal with friends, at a makeshift outdoor table under a shade tree. At sunset, the taxi driver finally dropped us at our hotel and we give him a handsome tip (“Muy bién,” he beamed).
 

We left the box of delicate Catrinas in our room and used the baño.  After a long and hard day’s work, we decided that we deserved supper and a beer (“merecemos una cerveza”) at Lupita (photo of patio seating on the left), a new favorite restaurant up near the Basilica.  But first, we had to visit the artisans selling woven linens and milagro hearts....   -JKM

How We Bring Beauty to You--part 1

Thoughts and photos from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

 

How do we bring the finest handmade crafts from remote Mexican villages to you? With a lot of love and hard work!  

 Corn platter by Nicolas Fabian, Santa Fe de la Laguana, Michoacan, Mexico.

Chiripa is hoping to have more in stock soon.

We personally visit dedicated Mexican artisans in their homes and family workshops. We hand-select works that have a human story to tell. We buy directly from the artisans, so they get the best possible return for their work. We pay in advance, and trust the artisans to deliver. They have never disappointed us. We have found sublime beauty in humble places, and made many wonderful friends. That more than compensates for the extra work. 

On our latest trip to Mexico, we visited the old colonial towns of Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende, as well as Patzcuaro in the highlands of Michoacán. We especially love Patzcuaro, which is within striking distance of a number of indigenous villages producing elegant crafts. On our latest trip, a typical day in Patzcuaro went like this: 

 

We threw off woolen blankets after a cold night, and took (brief) lukewarm showers. Donning sweaters, we went out for hot coffee and breakfast. Joggers were taking gentle morning turns around the sweet old plaza. The soft light filtered through the tall trees and warmed the adobe walls. After breakfast, we jettisoned our sweaters and put on baseball caps. Then to work!

We plunged into the labyrinthine public market to find the tiny stall belonging to Salvador Farran, one of just two remaining practitioners of the traditional Purepecha silver jewelry craft.

You should not expect to find Señor Farfan’s jewelry stall without an expert guide; but, if you want to try, you should look near the large collection of butcher stalls that have unrefrigerated beef sides, pig heads and strings of spicy red and green chorizo prominently on offer.

With a little luck, we found Señor Farfan. To the sound of hacking meat cleavers, we purchased some delicate hand-wrought traditional jewelry for Chiripa. 

We squinted as we emerged from the dark warren of the market. To save time, we divided our forces: some went to the basilica market to buy pine needle baskets, bracelets, weavings and carvings from the indigenous vendors. Others, drawing the short straw, went to the bank to exchange traveler’s checks for cash (artisans in remote villages do not accept credit cards, wire transfers or like forms of payment). The bank never cashes traveler’s checks with undue haste, so there was time to shop most of the basilica market. -JKM

The day in Patzcuaro will continue . . .

Artists in the Mercado

Photos and thoughts from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

We never miss tromping through the Artisan Market in San Miguel de Allende. We have vendors there who we've worked with for years and we discover new ones every year. What I realized this year was that many are women. The shops open in the late morning and close around 5. Often children play while their parent(s) works. Sometimes young people practice their English on the tourists. Often the shop keeper is also the artist. Other times the workshop is off-site and the market booth is the retail outlet.

These four women were part of the Mercado experience on this trip.

We met Adela Flores on our very first buying trip to San Miguel de Allende six years ago. Her family makes the colorful painted blue clay figures, frames and boxes that brighten our walls. They also sell other items from their home state of Guerrero like coconut masks and silver jewelry. This year Adela greeted us again. We learned that she now has 3 children! "That's enough!" she volunteered.

We found Julieta Perez hammering milagros onto wooden hearts and crosses. Her work was very finely detailed and she greeted us warmly. I put together an order sitting on the tiny stool she uses as her workshop. Her fingers are stained from the finish on the wood. I marveled at the crude workspace virtually in a tunnel. No wonder the merchants are reluctant to arrive before noon.

Leonor is my new source for plain tin nichos; those tin boxes with glass doors that you can decorate with your own pictures, beads, and trinkets. Her shop has lots of tin things. I was admiring the variety and inquiring about quantities when she told me she could bring pictures and then make anything I wanted. I came back the next day, sat on yet another baby stool and worked on an order. The reason I had to sit for all this negotiating is that I'm quite sick with a cold at this point. The photo includes her son who is learning English.

The son on the right in this photo was also doing some translating for his very proud mother, but in this case he was translating from the native Huichol language to Spanish. This family was originally from Nyarit on the west coast of Mexico. They create the amazing beaded figures and yarn art that is embedded in beeswax. We will have a few new pieces of yarn art and beaded earrings to share when the shipment arrives. -kl

Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato

Photos and thoughts from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

From the city of Guanajuato, we bussed to Dolores Hidalgo, another city in the state of Guanajuato and home to fabulous ice cream sold on the central plaza. We arrived late, had dinner and I was too full to enjoy an ice cream. Tomorrow. . . But, tomorrow was Sunday and our morning walk told us that ice cream would be a later delicacy. Darn.

No one is shy about color in Mexico. I love it.

It was a calm Sunday morning; no flags unfurling in front of Father Hidalgo's historic church. I'm not your Mexican history maven, but, this is one of the most significant locations for the Mexican revolution. Look it up!

Our morning restaurant was still decorated in Valentines Day papel picado. 

Dolores Hidalgo is home to much talavera pottery and hand painted tiles. I love how the bandstand tiles were repaired on the side of the steps. 

 

Our prior trips to DH were quick stops at our favorite shop Liceagui. (I'll post more about them when the shipment arrives.) We were in need of a hotel and Estela recommended Hotel Hidalgo just off the main plaza. Now we can recommend it, too. Clean, convenient and very affordable: all Chiripa requirements.

Beginning in Guanajuato

Photos and thoughts from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

We began this year's trip with a stop in Guanajuato. Guanajuato is the captial of the state of the same name which is in the center of the country and northwest of Mexico City. The state sponsors an exposition to encourage importers to buy from state artisans. We were graciously met at the Leon airport by Rodrigo who had to pass on another state sponsored reception for Korean auto makers. They put us up for 2 nights at Edelmira Hotel Boutique in the center of the city and just a couple blocks from the expo.

We arrived close to 10 pm and the streets were teaming with people. I snapped this photo of a spontaneous sing-along. Rodrigo said this happens often; a favorite group starts playing and the fans gather and sing along. I wanted to roam the streets but was too exhausted from long and delayed flights. (I will try to avoid Houston in the future.)

The hotel is more upscale than typical Chiripa accommodations. We especially liked the down comforters. I took this photo to illustrate something I had not seen before. At the ends of the beds were wool weavings (tapetes). We usually tell customers this size is a table runner, but, in this case it looked lovely as an accent on the bed linens. 

I was sick most of the two days we spent in Guanajuato and I have no photos of the new products we found. I'll do an update when they arrive later this spring.  -kl

Hasta Luego!

Will we find ourselves in the back of a pickup truck heading out to a new workshop?

Or will we be in the cab playing peek-a-boo with the newest member of the family?

 

Will we find our favorite foods (and drinks)?

Will we get good snacks on the buses?

 

Will we find our favorite families at home and still creating the wonderful crafts we come to buy?

 

Some of the Chiripa partners are off to Mexico tomorrow. We'll post stories when we return.

The Silver City

From the log kept on the August, 2011 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

For fine Mexican silver, there is no better place than the mountain-side town of Taxco. Taxco was an important silver mining town in the Spanish colonial era, and it is still the center of the country’s silver trade.

We had some reservations about taking the long overland bus ride to Taxco. The terrain was rugged, and the distance was long. And, like everyone else, we had seen the news reports of drug-related violence is some parts of Mexico. But, in the end, we decided to go for it (after all, it’s probably safer than driving on the beltline in Madison, Wisconsin). We were not disappointed.

The bus system in Mexico is fabulous. You can walk into a bus terminal, without reservations, and soon get on a bus to almost any destination of your choice. The buses are excellent, the drivers are highly professional and competent, the fares are cheap, and the buses run safely and on time. On this trip, we seldom had to wait more than 5 minutes for the bus of our choosing. The long distance buses are better than those in the U.S. (offering snacks, toilet facilities and more leg room, among other things). Local buses are a little more worn, but still adequate and fun. The passengers in the buses come from all walks of life, but are always friendly and courteous.

The bus ride to Taxco took us through the big industrial towns of Morelia and Toluca. But the countryside was beautiful, especially in the mountain region near Taxco and the spa town of Ixtapan de la Sal (not to be confused with the coastal resort town of Ixtapa). 

 

On the way we saw verdant agricultural areas (green from summer rain) producing corn, grain, vegetables, sugar cane, fruit, cattle, sheep and goats. Some fields were being worked by hand, or with teams of oxen. In some of the mountain areas near Taxco, the climate is perfect for floriculture: hundreds of acres of roses are grown in greenhouses covering every available inch of land on the steep hillsides. (The climate is also  perfect for humans: the days are delightful and, although there is ample rain at this time of year, the storms obligingly come at night.)

The road took endless switchbacks through remote mountain and forest areas, where waterfalls plunged off steep cliffs. In the late afternoon light, the golden mountain tops contrasted in high relief with deep blue canyons below. 

  

At last, we rounded a curve and looked down on the town of Taxco. Built over the centuries, at an impossible angle on a steep mountainside, the town has a fairy-tale appearance. It has white-washed buildings and steep cobbled streets that make for hard climbing. It is easy to get lost in the narrow, twisting streets, and even easier to lose your way in the walkways that climb, descend and writhe their way through the labyrinthine public market.

  

In Taxco, silver is king. Silver jewelry is crafted in home workshops for sale at dozens of retail jewelry shops throughout the town. We found a wonderful selection of brilliant (but reasonably priced) silver pieces at a shop operated by Ricardo and his wife. At Chiripa, you can find a piece that is just right for you.

Ricardo learned the jewelry business from his mother Alicia, after whom his shop is named.  Ricardo loves to play tennis (there is at least one horizontal tennis court in this vertical town), and bears an uncanny resemblance to tennis star Andre Agassiz who once reportedly visited Taxco. Ricardo laughs and tells of the time a star-struck tourist mistook him for Agassiz and nearly asked for his autograph.  -jkm