Requiem for a Silversmith

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

February 24, 2010

We are sorry to report that Jesus Garcia Zavala--silversmith extraordinaire--has passed away. The sign over his form shop near the Patzcuaro Basillica has been painted over with whitewash.

Jesus created the beautiful silver fish necklaces and other items seen at Chiripa, and his work has been displayed in museums around the world.

When we asked Jesus why there were 12 fish on all of his necklaces
he replied that there were 12 disciples, of course.

Jesus carving one of his cast silver fish.

Fortunately, Jesus shared his silverworking knowledge with other family members, and we were able to acquire a few pieces that his cousin has crafted in the same tradition.

Earrings by Jesus Garcia Zaval available at Chiripa and online.

Farewell to a Patzcuaro icon.

Copper, Furniture, Guns and Gorditas

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

February 23, 2010

Lourdes (“Lulu”) and Alfredo are a good team. Alfredo designs and builds the gorgeous wood and copper furniture you see at Chiripa. Lulu is a perpetual motion machine – the lively and engaging face of the family copper business. As we discussed hand-hammered copper and furniture, a neighbor lady came by offering homemade gorditas. We thought they were delicious, and a passing local patrol of heavily-armed federales apparently agreed.

The military presence is an unfortunate sign of the times in some parts of Mexico. Later, after visiting several other copper workshops, we had a more elaborate meal of pasta and shrimp prepared by Renaissance-man Alfredo. Muy sabroso!

Casa Felicitas, Lulu's domain
in Santa Clara de Cobre, Michoacan, Mexico

Tzintzuntzan and Back

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico. Photo captions by Kathryn.

February 22, 2010

We traveled to the lakeside village of Tzintzuntzan, which in past centuries was the capital of the powerful Tarascan empire. There we shopped for cantera stone carving.

An array of carved volcanic rock.

Carver Diego Lopez Zaldivar with his family

A veiw of the ancient ruins from Diego's window.

And we visited the overflowing artisan market. We bought armloads of things, including dozens of tall cornhusk gladiolas on bamboo sticks.

We stuffed everything into a small taxi, and then tried to stuff ourselves into the same tiny space. It was a struggle, but nothing like that which ensued when we tried to get out again at our destination. The taxi driver smiled in amusement as we thrashed around in a hopeless tangle of seat belts, bags, flowers and sticks. He kept his good humor, even when a rogue stick nearly cost him an eye. But at last we broke free, and no one was hurt. All part of the Chiripa business model!

A staple at Chiripa is the cornhusk flowers that we can only find in the Tzintzuntzan market.

These colorful additions to our shop inspire people to say: "Chiripa makes me happy!"

This photo is the family who's stall at the market sells the many flowers we purchase

(daisies, callas, tulips, and the gladiolas mentioned in the copy above).

Left to right: Angelica Morales, her husband Juan Alberto Aparicio, and their daughter Jessica Morales.

We were happy to find all of them at the shop on this trip.

Paula Guzman Perez makes these delightful skeletons.

Her display was set up outside the local cemetery that is famous for it's Day of the Dead observance.

It was just a Chiripa that she was on the path that I walked on my way to buy stone carvings.

Patzcuaro Calls Again

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

February 21, 2010 — Ah, Patzcuaro! The chill mornings at 7,000 feet, the evergreen-forested hills, the lake, the field stone fences painstakingly constructed by generations of campesinos, the 400-year old stone buildings, the rustic wood cabins with steep tile roofs, the church bells, the wood smoke, the ice cream vendors and consumers,



the market,


the beautiful Purepecha faces,


the easy pace and, of course, the crafts.

In Patzcuaro and surrounding villages there are hand-woven table linens in a riot of colors, pine needle baskets, wood carvings, furniture, cheerful flowers fashioned from corn husks, hand-hammered copper, cantera stone carving, leather, traditional ceramics, and the best guitars in Mexico. We have returned many times, and it touches us still.

The beautiful old Plaza Quiroga is being refurbished this year to the design originally mandated in the 1500’s by King Felipe II of Spain.


The project provides lots of jobs in these hard times, and the result will no doubt be beautiful. But it may take a while to acquire the patina of the old square we loved.


The construction deprives us of or our accustomed morning paseo, and young lovers must find other places to embrace. We wonder whether the birth rate will be affected.

We end the day after dark, in a little shop that sells hearts, crosses and other mysterious items made with the little tin “milagros” that are so popular at Chiripa.

When we tell the young shopkeeper that we are from Chiripa, her eyes sparkle and she breaks into a beautiful smile: “Oh yes, I remember you!”

Hard Times

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico. Photo captions by Kathryn.

February 20, 2010 – HARD TIMES

“We may have to shut down if things don’t improve.” Like many other artisans, Enrique is deeply concerned about current economic conditions. He and his wife Gloria run D’Casa Ceramics, a small workshop that produces hand-crafted Talavera-style ceramics. Each piece requires hours of careful hand painting. The ceramics are then fired at high temperature to produce a durable and exquisite product.

The showroom/office at D'Casa Ceramics, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Enrique engages the guys while Gloria figures our total in the background.

The artists work in the back room painting patterns on stoneware.

Their fine brushes are made from squirrel tails.

Enrique and Gloria worry about their small family of talented painters, who rely on them for a steady wage. (Enrique showed us the ceramic jar that held the wages to be paid that afternoon.) If Enrique and Gloria are forced to shut down, the world will be a poorer and less beautiful place. Chiripa is helping to sustain this handcraft tradition. You can share in the beauty, and keep the tradition alive!

Another painter working on a very detailed platter.

The completed piece waits to be fired.

We sell this platter at Chiripa and online.

Other pieces in the Rosy (teal) and Imperial (blue) patterns.
Stop at the shop to see what's on hand.

Tequila and Goat Stew

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 buying trip to Mexico. Photo captions by Kathryn.

February 18, 2010 – AN EARLY START

The alarm went off at 1:30 AM, and in less than an hour we were on the bus – headed past the cozy little Chiripa shop on Madison’s South Park Street, and on our way to Chicago O’Hare. It is cold and dark, and we are thinking of the warm sun and friendly faces of Mexico.

Bus terminal driveway in Puerta Vallarta.

This is one of the reasons I love Mexico.
Artisan crafts are everywhere.

February 19, 2010 – TEQUILA AND GOAT STEW

We started our first full day in Mexico with hot coffee and a good breakfast.

A breakfast buffet awaits us at Hotel San Francisco in Guadalajara.

My two favorites were on the menu: fresh papaya and fish fillets.

Yes, breakfast. But you will only find the fish on Fridays (I think)

and maybe only during Lent. It was my first "Chiripa" (happy accident) of the day.

Our buying activities included an afternoon visit to the Tlaquepaque workshop where our friends Tina and Carlos produce colorful hand-blown glassware (possibly for your table).

Carlos Perez Castellanos and Tina Ruiz of Vitro Disenos Artesanales.

No, the red glass bulls are not coming to Chiripa, but some of the hearts are.

Carlos offered us a glass of tequila. He had made hand-blown tequila bottles for an artisan tequila producer, but the producer lacked cash to pay. So the producer paid with barrels of tequila, one of which stood in the back of the shop. Carlos drew us a big glass (“the tap closes slowly,” he said). Inspired by the fine tequila (we shared the glass), we ordered a lovely selection of hand-blown glassware. Tina and Carlos were happy, and you will be too.

In the evening, we had dinner in an old part of Guadalajara, at the Birreria las 9 Esquinas. This restaurant specializes in goat meat stew and lamb barbecue with all the trimmings (including pickled vegetables, onions and garlic). The stew bubbled in big cazuelas. For dessert we had fresh strawberries covered with thick cream.

I was sorry to have left my camera back at the hotel.

The restaurant was recommended by a Chiripa customer.

Check out their website. (You can view it in English.)

Home Again

Those following this blog will have noted that I did not post anything while on the Chiripa buying trip to Mexico. We set an almost impossible schedule with little time to find and use a computer.

Future posts will lead you through some of the highlights of the trip. But, because it is still tourist season in southern Mexico I wanted to promote a favorite artist and a favorite restaurant.

Maria and Jacobo with their new Chiripa caps!

Jacobo and Maria Angeles of San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Mexico create stunning alebrijes and run one of the finest workshops in Oaxaca. And we will write more about it in a future post. But, who would have guessed that their restaurant (at the junction of the main highway and the road that leads into San Martin) offers some of the finest food we've tasted in Mexico.

Azucena Zapoteca
Cocina Tradicional Oaxaquena
Carretera Pro. Angel Km. 23.5
San Martin Tilcajete
Ocotlan, Oaxaca
Tel. 52 49 227 / 52 49 228
email: angeles@tilcajete.org

DON'T PASS BY. STOP, EAT, ENJOY.

This was one dish that included a delicious mole and that amazing stringy Oaxacan cheese. What a treat!

Next to the restaurant you'll find a gift shop with a wonderful sampling of Mexican artisan crafts. You may also get to watch some of the master painters working on their alebrijes.

And in the near future you'll be able to see some of their fine pieces at CHIRIPA.