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

Night Bus to Chiapas

August, 2012.  We continued our journey through southern Mexico, seeking out fine artisan crafts for Chiripa.

From the City of Oaxaca, we took the regular overnight bus to San Cristóbol de Las Casas, in the green highlands of Chiapas. Chiapas is located in the far south of Mexico, next to Guatemala. It is the ancestral homeland of the Mayan people. Our overnight bus trip from Oaxaca to San Cristóbol took more than 11 hours. The route climbed over rugged mountains, descended into hot lowlands in the Isthmus of Tehuántepec, and then climbed again into misty Chiapas. We didn’t get much sleep during the ride, but in Chiapas we met some wonderful people and found some great crafts for Chiripa!

Chiapas Woman with her Folk Art, 

Traditional Blouse and Heavy

Black Woolen Skirt

We started our journey at nightfall, in a pouring rain, and soon left the City of Oaxaca behind us. The bus wound its way up the steep mountain road in complete darkness. Rock walls, brush, guard rails and black empty space swept to and fro across the headlights as the driver negotiated endless switchbacks – now shifting into low gear, now pumping the brakes.  

Occasionally, a heavily loaded truck emerged from the darkness above and roared past us on the narrow road. Other times, we passed sluggish trucks that were grinding up the mountain ahead of us. The windshield wipers kept up a quiet rhythm, and the bus driver played low salsa music to keep himself awake. 

Morning in San Cristóbol, Chiapas

We dozed fitfully in the dark bus, trying in vain to find restful sleeping positions. In the seats ahead and behind, fellow passengers snored (and maybe we did too – at least in our intermittent moments of sleep). As the bus pushed on through the hot Isthmus of Tehuántepec, we passed humble outdoor cafes (comedors) where clusters of people sat eating and conversing in the cool midnight hours. The dimly lighted scenes came and went, as if in a dream. Then our heads dropped and our eyes closed again.

Lunch on the Street, San Cristóbol

Dawn was breaking when we pulled into San Cristóbol. The mountain air was cool and fresh as we stepped down from the bus. Our backs were stiff and our knees were cramped, but a good cup of hot black Chiapas coffee would soon put us in shape for the craft hunt.        - JM

Woman with Braids, San Cristóbol

Lizards and Bears!

August, 2012.  We are in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, looking for brilliant artisan crafts for Chiripa.

At Chiripa, you can spot beautifully carved and painted wooden lizards climbing the walls.  The lizards (and other whimsical alebrijes) are created by the husband-and-wife team of Oscar Carillo and Josefina Morales.  The couple work from their home in the village of Arrazola.  From the village, you can look up to see the heights of Monte Alban – the spectacular Zapotec ruins whose construction began around 500 BC.

Oscar is 43 years old and was born in Arrazola.  Josefina is from the state of Tabasco to the east, along the Gulf of Campeche.  The couple met when she was a passenger in the taxi that he was driving in the city of Oaxaca.  They have been married for about 22 years, and have 2 children.  They started producing and selling alebrijes shortly after they were married, to help support their family.  Business was slow at first, but grew over time as their work became known.

As a child, Oscar was more interested in soccer (futbol) than woodcarving.  He learned the wood-carving craft later, from his cousins, and found that he had a talent for it.  But it was Josefina who completed the artistic team.  Oscar creates graceful wooden figures, ready for life, and Josefina adds the living spark with her paint brushes.  “Neither of us could do it alone,” Oscar tells us in Spanish.  “Josefina is a very skilled painter, and she works hard at everything she does.”

For many years, only Oscar signed the completed pieces (the traditional practice for husband-and-wife teams in Mexico).  But at Chiripa’s suggestion, Josefina now signs them as well.  Josefina beams as she proudly adds her signature to each completed work.  Oscar beams too.

Josefina proudly signs a completed bear.

Oscar gets his ideas from the wood he carves.  He examines each piece of wood to visualize the animal spirit it holds.  Then he follows his instincts to bring that spirit out.  Each piece is unique. 

The wood comes from the branches of the copal tree.   Some wood can be found near Arrazola, but much of Oscar’s supply comes from the mountains near the rug-weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle, about 15 miles away.  Harvesters never take the whole tree, just the limbs.  That way, the tree can continue to generate new wood.  A tree must be at least 12 years old before harvesting can begin.

About 10 years ago, Oscar planted some copal trees on his own land.  The trees will be ready to harvest in another couple of years.  Oscar says that the first alebrije he carves from his own wood will be a very special piece, and he will not sell it (even to his Chiripa friends). - JM