We interrupt the Chiripa buying trip log to tell you about a fantastic opportunity in Chicago. The National Museum of Mexican Art is hosting a Folk Art Festival from now until Sunday, October 25.
We took the opportunity to drive down and visit two of our close Oaxaca friends who are part of this special exhibit and sale. Jacobo Angeles (carved and intricately painted wooden figures-alebrijes) and Bulmaro Perez (hand woven and naturally died wool rugs) have brought dozens of samples of their expert craftmanship.
Jacobo is always laughing;
he's holding on to the loom that Bulmaro shipped to the museum to demonstrate his craft.
If you have the opportunity to visit Chicago and the museum you won't find a better place to see their work in the Midwest (except at Chiripa, of course!) and to meet with the artist and learn about the natural die processes that they use. Please tell Jacobo and Bulmaro that we sent you! When the museum closed we took Jacobo and Bulmaro to dinner. They chose the cuisine (Mexican, of course) and we headed for Frontera Grill, the Rick Bayless restaurant on Clark St. in downtown Chicago.
Jacobo and Bulmaro at Frontera Grill, Chicago.
From the mezcal apartif and through the meal we caught up on each other's businesses and learned about their family traditions for the coming Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebrations. By chance, Rick was at the restaurant that night and Jacobo and Bulmaro were fortunate enought to meet him and invite him to their homes when he travels to Mexico. It was a very special night!
All camera's came out for the photo op with Rick Bayless.
Jacobo is holding some of his work.
I can't say enough good things about the National Museum of Mexican Art. This is the very best time to see it if you are interested in Dia de los Muertos. A large exhibit space is dedicated to altars (ofrendas) that honor individuals or groups of people who have passed beyond this world.
Other exhibitors at the Folk Art Festival: Guillermina Aguilar from Ocotlan, Oaxaca (clay figures); Miriam Castaneda from Xoxocotla, Morelos (paper Mache); Florentina Lopez de Jesus from Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero (back strap loom weaving); Jose Jorge Garcia from Oaxaca, Oaxaca (silver filigree jewelry) and the Mondragon Family from Toluca, Estado de Mexico (sugar skulls).
The Mondragon family comes to the museum a month before Dia de los Muertos to make 20,000 sugar skulls. They will write a name on the skull if you wish. The museum sells out.
The photogenic Gillermina Aguilar graciously consented to a photo.
Her family's work can be found at Chiripa.
It looks like a cold and rainy weekend ahead. Our Mexican friends are shivering. Go say hello from us and spread some warmth!
A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl
"Today we were on another old bus as it lurched out of Oaxaca’s noisy Abastos Market, headed for the village of Arrazola. Gears ground as the bus pounded its way over endless potholes and speed control bumps (“topes”), and stopped frequently to gain and lose passengers. The day already promised heat, and the bus was dark with dust and exhaust fumes. The short trip seemed endless, but at last we reached the village. On the distant heights above the town, we could see pyramids forming part of the spectacular pre-Columbian ruins of Monte Alban.
"Arrazola, like San Martín, is known for its painted wood carvings. But our initial impressions were not favorable. As we worked our way up the steep cobbled streets, ducking into family workshops, we found mainly mediocre work.
"But at last we stumbled into the workshop of Sergio Santiago. This was something different!
"The delightful figures seemed to come alive, and we had fun picking out a good selection for our Chiripa customers. If the figures survive the trip to Wisconsin (Ojalá!), you will soon see them at the shop. -JM Aug 8,2009
A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl
"This morning we jumped off the bus and plunged into the busy Friday market in the village of Ocotlán. The market is teeming with country folk buying and selling aromatic peppers, fruits and vegetables, fresh cheese, live turkeys with feet tied together, hardware, clothing and other goods. You can still see lots of older women in traditional pleated skirts, embroidered blouses, aprons, headdresses and rebozos, and men in handmade straw sombreros. But when their generation is gone, you will probably see only machine-made baseball caps, T-shirts and jeans from China and Indonesia.
"On our way out of Ocotlán, we bought clay figurines at the cluttered multi-family households of the famous Aguilar sisters. Then we hopped on the bus, and headed down the road to the villages of Santo Tomás Jalietza (weaving on backstrap looms) and San Martín Tilcajete. We nearly lost Kathy when the bus started before she was fully on board, but she managed to stay upright and hang on. One passenger carried a handsome live chicken, in an open plastic bag, from the market in Ocotlán. The bus dropped us along the highway, so we hiked into town.
"San Martín is famous for colorfully-painted carved wooden figures called alebrijes, and in the village plaza many of the artisans had their works on display. We picked out a good selection, then walked down the rocky dirt street to our primary destination at the far end of the village – the home of Jacobo and Maria Angeles. These world class artisans produce exquisitely carved and painted alebrijes that raise the craft to the level of high art. You can see several fine examples of their work at Chiripa.
"We ended the day at the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec, home of the famous Oaxacan black pottery. Examples of the pottery are available at Chiripa." -JM Aug 7,2009
Enjoy extended hours and refreshments on Friday, October 2 from 5 until 9 p.m. as Chiripa participates in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art’s semi-annual Gallery Night.
One of our featured pieces will be this painting by Gregorio Mendez. We met Sr. Mendez in February while traveling to remote Cuetzalan, Puebla, Mexico.
Take this opportunity to bring in friends who’ve never been to Chiripa. We’ll be on hand to talk about the people who make the fine artisan crafts that we sell and to give information about the places where the art is made. With winter just around the corner, perhaps it’s time to plan that warm weather trip to Mexico. We’ll help you pick the spot.
A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl
"We caught the familiar brown-and-yellow bus as it left the second-class bus depot in Oaxaca’s gritty Abastos Market (“abastos” means “provisions,” and thousands of people of limited means buy and sell daily necessities at this big market). We rode to the end of the line, and got off at the village of Mitla. The village is an important textile center, and is also the site of important pre-Columbian ruins.
KZ contemplates the plethora of patterns at Mitla.
The pattern we often see in rugs sold at Chiripa.
"On our return ride, we got off at Teotitlán del Valle, the most important of Oaxaca’s rug-weaving villages. There, we greeted old friends and picked out a lovely selection of hand-woven rugs, purses, pillow covers and table runners for Chiripa (guaranteed to warm and brighten your environment).
The Santiago Family in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Another pattern at Mitla similar to the design in the rug above.
"Our last stop was the village of Tule, to see what may be the world’s largest tree. The famous 'Tule Tree' is about 2,000 years old, and has a trunk as big as a house! The tree is still healthy, and green with new growth. But it is surrounded by a clutter of souvenir shops and food stands, and expanding development threatens its water supply." -JM Aug 6,2009
A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl
"At dawn, we caught a taxi to the Puebla bus terminal and boarded for the 4-hour trip to Oaxaca in southern Mexico. It is a beautiful ride, through wild mountain lands and cactus forests. But we were happy when the bus pulled in to the new first-class terminal in Oaxaca.
"On our first afternoon in Oaxaca, we spent a little time in the bustling market southeast of the zócalo. Our friend Kathy boldly accepted an offer to try a sample of chapulines (fried grasshoppers), which are widely sold by street vendors here. She decided, however, that the sample was plenty (something about an oily taste, and legs sticking in her throat). Good protein, though.
KZ tastes grasshoppers in the Oaxaca market.
"On our first night in Oaxaca, we had dinner with our young friends Eric and Elsa. Eric is Zapotec, the eldest son of traditional weavers in the indigenous village of Teotitlán del Valle. If he marries in Teotitlán, Eric will receive a share of village land and will assume the rights and considerable responsibilities of village membership.
"But like many Mexicans, Eric is torn between 2 worlds. He learned Spanish and Zapotec at home (each village speaks a different dialect), but is fluent in English and adept with electronic media. He has traveled widely in the U.S. (including Madison, where he presented a weaving demonstration at Chiripa). At a young age, he is already Director of Education at the magnificent new Textile Museum in Oaxaca (if you are ever in Oaxaca, you must check out the museum on Independencia, just a few blocks east of the zócalo).
Eric in the center at Chiripa with his father Federico on the left and Elsa on the right.
"Eric worries that Oaxaca’s rich weaving tradition is dying out. The craft is still practiced on wooden and backstrap looms in villages throughout the region. But even here, cheap industrial textiles are quickly replacing hand-woven products for home use. Young people are not learning many of the traditional skills, and the older generation will eventually be gone. Eric works long hours to document and share the treasures that still exist, and to help struggling artisans find viable markets. Chiripa is trying to help." -JM, Aug 5, 2009
A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl
"A late afternoon shower welcomed us to Puebla, and the air was cool. We checked into the comfortable old Hotel Coloniál (the hotel building has been on the city map since 1668), then walked to the tiny shop of our friend Miguel.
Miguel, his wife Lila, and their son Daniel were there to greet us – as were a crowd of humorous little skeleton figures that Miguel and his wife produce in their home. Skeletons on skis, skeletons playing tennis, skeletons at work – seemingly as alive as you and me (maybe more alive than me). You can see them for yourself at Chiripa.
"In the evening, we strolled around Puebla’s beautiful colonial zócalo (central plaza). Across from the cathedral, workers had cut down a huge old tree – the patriarch of all the trees on the zócalo (other trees also seemed to be in bad shape). The benevolent old tree had looked down on generations of strolling lovers, beaming parents, and chattering children chasing pigeons, but now it was just a carcass lying in the street. Workers with chain saws hacked at the outer rings of its huge trunk – like the crew of the Pequod hacking at the carcass of a giant whale.
"There is a new sculpture in the zócalo – a kind of white illuminated maze with trees wrought in iron. At its base is a quotation that goes something like this: “It is true that we must all leave this life. But the works that we labor to create, with all our strength and determination, will endure forever.” That may or may not be true, but the kindly old tree is definitely gone." -JM Aug 4, 2009
Jacobo is always laughing;
Jacobo and Bulmaro at Frontera Grill, Chicago.
All camera's came out for the photo op with Rick Bayless.
The Mondragon family comes to the museum a month before Dia de los Muertos to make 20,000 sugar skulls. They will write a name on the skull if you wish. The museum sells out.
The photogenic Gillermina Aguilar graciously consented to a photo.
