Sugar Skull Demonstration October 14, 2011

Join the revelry and reunion indicative of Los Dias de los Muertos (the Days of the Dead) at Chiripa on Friday, October 14. It's the semi-annual Gallery Night sponsored by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Megan Hile Block will demonstrate sugar skull making and decorating from 6 -9 pm. We'll be serving seasonal refreshments. AND, if we're lucky and the truck arrives, you can see some of the new product from the last buying trip to Mexico. 

For those of you who cannot join us, visit Megan's terrific blog post showing the skulls she made last year with her family. Megan is an energetic young woman, a fan of Chiripa, and a BIG fan of Latin America. Her short bio is below.

Megan Hile Block is a mother, homemaker, school teacher, food blogger and chocolatier with a passionate love of Latin American culture. She has spent years immersing herself in the Spanish language at her “day job” working with bilingual schoolchildren in the Verona School District. In the evening, she dons her gourmet chef apron while creating incredible recipes inspired by the cuisine of the world. She is most recently immersing herself into the art of chocolate making. You can find out more about her work on the web at her wonderful food blog www.foodalution.com

Purépecha Silver

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

Pátzcuaro, in the mountains of Michoacán, is cooler and wetter than Guadalajara. Salvador Farfán García and his son Gustavo are the last remaining practitioners of the traditional Purépecha silver craft in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Salvador’s world renowned cousin Jesús Garcia Zavala, who also studied under the great maestro Casares, died a couple of years ago.

We decided to locate Salvador, but it was not easy. With luck, we managed to get Gustavo’s address from a jewelry retailer in Pátzcuaro. 

The walk past Once Patios.

The path led us past the Casa de las Once Patios, where a blind accordionist plays every day in hopes of getting a few coins from passersby. 

The mournful chords seemed as timeless and melancholy as the ancient adobe walls. We climbed the steep cobbled stairway to the hill above, from which there is a magnificent view of the city, mountains and lake.

Pátzcuaro at the top of the stairs.

We wandered through the quiet little residential district that sits up on the hill. At last, with some friendly help from local residents, we found Gustavo’s home. Gustavo graciously showed us his little workshop, where he makes fine silver jewelry on a tree stump using hammers, files, and other simple hand tools. 

Beth watches Gustavo at work on the stump.

Gustavo carefully forms a sphere from a flat disc.

Gustavo files a silver fish.

Then, he led us back down to the center of town to meet his father (from whom he learned the silver craft). 

Our pilgrimage took us to Pátzcuaro’s public market. Following Gustavo’s lead, we plunged into a warren of covered walkways – so dark and crowded that they seemed like underground tunnels. Finally, in a most unlikely location opposite a meat vendor’s stall, we found Salvador’s tiny little shop.

We picked out a fine selection of pieces, including a magnificent fish necklace of a kind that Purépecha brides-to-be traditionally received as a toke of their betrothal. We also chose hand-wrought silver earrings of a kind found nowhere else in the world. See them for yourself at Chiripa!  -JKM

Salvador and Gustavo Farfan with some of their creations.



Earrings available from Chiripa.

Guadalajara and Environs

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

Guadalajara is a big city. It has some architectural jewels, and is welcoming in a matter-of-fact, working-city sort of way. But it is not exactly quaint or charming. We visit Guadalajara because it has cheap airline connections from Chicago and because the nearby towns of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá produce a wide variety of fine artisan crafts including hand-blown glass, metalwork and ceramics. 

Beth and Jim select metalwork at Diseno Marco Polo in Tonala.

This year, at a craft exhibition in Tlaquepaque, we met Luis Fernando Gonzalez Camerena who produces lovely dancing figures, ornaments and flowers from simple corn husks. The corn husks are cleverly fashioned to resemble traditional lilies (azucenas), cala lilies (alcatraces), gladiolas and multi-colored daisies (margaritas). These bright flowers do not wilt, and they make a wonderful display or gift – especially when placed in a handmade copper, ceramic or glass vase from Chiripa!

One evening, we had time to walk in the historic center of Guadalajara. There are many beautiful colonial buildings, including the great cathedral. Street performers entertain the citizens as they stroll in the cool evening air. While watching a performing clown, we suddenly found ourselves drawn into the act – much to the amusement of the local audience. The clown presented a heart-shaped balloon to our friend Shelley, whom he had coaxed to center stage. 

Shelly is drawn into the action on the streets of Guadalajara.

Life can take a serious turn near the stoplights in Guadalajara. When the light turns red, and traffic stops, people walk between cars selling newspapers, snacks and window-washing services. Severely disabled persons may also work their way between lanes of traffic, seeking alms. The air is hot, and thick with dust and exhaust fumes.

The window washers are equipped with spray bottles and squeegies, and expertly complete their task just as the light turns green. Drivers hand over a few pesos as their cars start to move. Once in a while, the job takes a little too long and cars start honking. Or, a window washer might drop a water bottle and retrieve it casually as an accelerating car threatens to run him over.
 

At one intersection, a street performer stood in front of traffic twirling fiery batons as cars waited for the green light. The baton-twirler’s face, neck and arms were completely covered in silver paint notwithstanding the sweltering sun. On a past trip, we saw a fire-eater swallow fiery torches as his daughter collected pesos from the waiting cars. The fire eater hugged his daughter when both of them had returned to the safety of the median strip; but from our angle it looked like he was holding the flaming torch perilously close to her long dark hair. 

-jkm

Neighborhood Details

Musings from the Feb 2011 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Most of the posts to this blog focus on the artist, the art/craft she or he creates, and the process we go through to find those special people. In the process, I'm often distracted by my surroundings. One afternoon in San Miguel de Allende (Guanajuato, Mexico) we were in search of a particular paper mache workshop. I couldn't stop myself from recording some details on our walk through a very regular neighborhood.

The sky is so blue!

Fish as rain spout; wires everywhere.

Verde (green) painted advertisement on a wall.

Bilingue/bilingual in the side of an exterior wall.

So many unexpected architectural details!

And finally we find the door that opens to a display area and workshop for some very creative paper mache.

A worker graciously pauses to show the colorful shakers.

Partners Beth And Jim M return from the Aug buying trip tomorrow, Aug 26. I wonder what photos and stories they will bring home.  kl

Copper Connections

Musings from the February 2011 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Lourdes (Lulu) and Alfredo operate two businesses in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, Mexico. Lulu manages the decorative copper shop called Casa Felicitas near the zocalo and Alfredo oversees the construction of furniture with copper panels in a business called Dona Mariquita. They are an amazing couple; fun, energetic, serious about their business, and very hard-working.

This photo was taken at the furniture exposition in Guadalajara last February. We met up with Lulu and Alfredo at the end of a long day. I must have taken dozens of shots of this dynamic couple and almost none turned out. Lulu is so expressive and energetic she's a blur on most photos.

Most of the furniture at the exposition is quite imposing, perfect for hacienda-style homes. We buy selectively knowing that many of our customers have small homes or condos. No matter the size, the copper and distressed wood is warm and inviting. And there's always a sip of tequila to warm the spirit while shopping!

We often write of forays into the hinterlands of Mexico, but in this case we travel to a huge exposition center in Guadalajara to visit our friends. There's nothing rustic about this venue! We usually breathe a sigh of relief when we leave big metropolitan areas preferring the pace of small town life in Mexico.

 

This photo of the zocalo in Santa Clara del Cobre is more indicative of our preference. One can spend ours watching people and the life of the small town. But, we seldom have time for that! When in Santa Clara del Cobre we're shopping for the perfect copper pieces for Chiripa. That always includes time with Lulu and Alfredo. 

You can see some of the copper on the Chiripa website.

Tennis Anyone?

Musings from the Feb 2011 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

One of our favorite workshops in Oaxaca is that of Jacobo and Maria Angeles in San Martin Tilcajete. It is a beehive of activity. In the midst of carving and painting and selling beautiful alebrijes (the colorful animals famous in this area), day to day life activities go on. 

We were fortunate to stop in the day some workers and friends were getting ready for a big game. The explanation of the game was that it is a kind of Zapotec (the indigenous people of this area) "tennis." 

The gloves caught our attention. They are made of leather with nails and weigh between 8 and 10 pounds. The solid rubber ball weighs between 2 and 3 pounds. Unfortunately, we were not able to come back the next day for the big match. I resolved to learn more when I came home. (Big mistake!)

The young man on the left is one of the stars. He's traveled to compete against teams in California. Jacobo sits on the couch. The young man in the white shirt wears a glove in the right hand and holds a ball. The young man on the right is Jacobo's son.

I have found very little online about the game and how it is played. The website www.oaxaca.travel has a page called "Did you know that in pre-hispanic Oaxaca tennis was played?" The game is called "juego de Pelota" (ball game)—not too descriptive. [This site may no longer be live/available.]

A book at books.google.com called: Tennis: a cultural history by Heiner Gillmeister has a good photo of the glove on a hand with the ball on p. 73.

I'd love to learn more about the game as it is played today. Please share if you have played or know something about it. Thanks. -kl

Signed by Josephina, Too!

Musings from the February 2011 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Lizards have become a symbol of Chiripa. The colorful carved creatures have brightened our walls since we opened in 2006 and we have often used them in advertising to help identify the business. They are a popular item at Chiripa and now climb the walls of dozens of homes in Madison and beyond. 

Oscar prepares our selection for shipping.
 

Most of our lizards have had the artist's signature: Oscar Carillo, Arrazola, Oaxaca, Mexico. But Oscar is just half of the story. Oscar carves the playful creatures from copal, a soft wood abundant in that area. His wife, Josephina Morales adds the colorful painted designs. It is often the bright colors and exact details that draw a person to one lizard over another.

Josephina poses with a favorite.

A while ago a customer commented on the signature and asked if perhaps we couldn't encourage the family business to add Josephina's name to the art. I did just that in February when we visited Oscar and Josephina's workshop.

I wish I had had my camera out to capture the big grin on Josephina's face. She quickly picked up a fine pen and added her name to the pieces we selected. 

I hope that she continues to take credit for the fine work that she does. -kl

The doorway to the gallery and workshop in Arrazola.
 

From the streets of Arrazola one can see the ruins of Monte Alban in the distance.

I was taken by the colorful chickens this year. Stop in to see them!