well, it’s our last full day in oaxaca city and we decided to check out the nearby towns of san bartolo coyotepec, famous for it’s production of mexican black pottery, and san martin telcajete, known for it’s woodcarvers. we called our friend federico to drive us and he arrives in the same volkswagen wagon. i notice his old car has 530,000 km on it and it’s only a 2004 model. it really is a beater and he tells us he hopes his boss will replace it and get him a newer car later this year as promised.
as we drove out i thought about some of the commercialization we have found here. coca-cola is everywhere and so is frito lay and its line of products, but pepsi is almost non existent. there are often two convenience stores in a single block and just as often as not, cookies, coke and chips is all they sell. we have seen burger king, domino's pizza, and of course mcdonalds. combined with lots of tortillas and corn products i imagine the mexican people are getting bigger and probably not in the way they want. cigarettes, like home, are not as visible but booze, in particular mescal, is everywhere . . . it seems that many of the corporations promoting the ‘bad for you’ food products are extending their reach, i fully expect a trip to the amazon to feature burgers and fries shops all up and down the river soon . . . if they’re not there already.
when we arrived at the large pottery market we were surprised to see only a handful of the more than fifty stalls open, and quickly learned that friday is ‘baking’ day. most of the artisans are off firing their week’s work in the community kilns. it turned out to be a blessing in that the artists who were there were able to spend time showing us their craft. at one stall, the lady got into a discussion with federico and soon they were exchanging phone numbers. it seems they reached some sort of agreement that included federico bringing his clients directly to her and she agreeing to give a small demonstration of her skills, which no doubt will increase her sales . . . it certainly made an impression on us. she had the form of a tall cylindrical vase that she used to show us her technique. with just a few rudimentary tools . . . an exacta knife, another knife blade with no handle, a nail file, and a bottle cap . . . she very quickly started her markings and drawings of flowers and suns. after she etched them in the clay she used one of her cutting tools to remove the flower petals and then the end of a pencil to mark some circles depicting the sun and stars around the flower. fascinating to watch, and certainly gave us a new appreciation for the finished piece. she told us that this particular piece would take her seven to eight hours to complete, start to finish, and she would sell it for about 150pesos . . . only $12.50 canadian. can you imagine?? we thanked her for her time, left a tip, and browsed amongst some of the other stalls. a lot of the work is similar but each artisan seems to have their particular pattern. some even have a trademark which they embed somewhere onto their finished work. bonnie was looking for a couple of large decorative pieces for their home in huatulco and she is going home happy as she found what she wanted. we went back to guatalupe, who had given us the demo, and chose a small piece to pack back home . . . we left her with a big smile knowing that her new sales technique has paid off.
we then went on to the village of san martin tilcajete and spent some time with zeny fuentes and his wife reyna, who create beautiful woodcarvings and ‘alebrije’. as is typical of many households in this village, the whole family is involved . . . he carves, she paints, and zeny is teaching one of the children, an eleven year-old daughter, to carve just as he learned from his father. alebrije is a spanish word meaning ‘imaginary’ or ‘fantasy’. it is used to describe a style of fanciful and surreal animal carvings with near psychedilic paint. when we have seen these carvings in the past or in the markets in oaxaca city, i have always thought they were very colourful but had odd shapes and sizes. they often depict exaggerated view of various animals found in the region. again, watching the process, however, and getting an intimate demonstration, we have a new appreciation for the art. zeny explained some of his pieces. his wife, reyna, showed us some of her techniques and explained the symbols in her paintings . . . depictions of the sun, air, water and other natural things are found on most of their work. she can spend several weeks painting the delicate pictures on any one carving depending on it’s size. she used tiny brushes and maguey spines . . . that look like toothpicks, but are from the maguey plant (same one they make mescal from) . . . for the delicate work. a lot pricier than the pottery we've just seen, depending on the size, but a lot of work goes into these and each one is unique.
this couple also own the ugliest mutt on the planet. it is an aztec dog that is black and completely bald except for a tuft of very thin hair on its head. hyenas look like miss universe contestants compared to this dog . . . UGLY!
after shopping we were back at the casa for an afternoon nap around the pool. then out for a delicious and expensive supper . . . coconut shrimp and margaritas. whenever we spend a lot of money on a meal i always wonder why i’m hungry after we leave the restaurant. in case you were wondering . . . we did find a coffee shop and finish with cappuccinos and dessert. this may be a hard habit to break.
as we drove out i thought about some of the commercialization we have found here. coca-cola is everywhere and so is frito lay and its line of products, but pepsi is almost non existent. there are often two convenience stores in a single block and just as often as not, cookies, coke and chips is all they sell. we have seen burger king, domino's pizza, and of course mcdonalds. combined with lots of tortillas and corn products i imagine the mexican people are getting bigger and probably not in the way they want. cigarettes, like home, are not as visible but booze, in particular mescal, is everywhere . . . it seems that many of the corporations promoting the ‘bad for you’ food products are extending their reach, i fully expect a trip to the amazon to feature burgers and fries shops all up and down the river soon . . . if they’re not there already.
when we arrived at the large pottery market we were surprised to see only a handful of the more than fifty stalls open, and quickly learned that friday is ‘baking’ day. most of the artisans are off firing their week’s work in the community kilns. it turned out to be a blessing in that the artists who were there were able to spend time showing us their craft. at one stall, the lady got into a discussion with federico and soon they were exchanging phone numbers. it seems they reached some sort of agreement that included federico bringing his clients directly to her and she agreeing to give a small demonstration of her skills, which no doubt will increase her sales . . . it certainly made an impression on us. she had the form of a tall cylindrical vase that she used to show us her technique. with just a few rudimentary tools . . . an exacta knife, another knife blade with no handle, a nail file, and a bottle cap . . . she very quickly started her markings and drawings of flowers and suns. after she etched them in the clay she used one of her cutting tools to remove the flower petals and then the end of a pencil to mark some circles depicting the sun and stars around the flower. fascinating to watch, and certainly gave us a new appreciation for the finished piece. she told us that this particular piece would take her seven to eight hours to complete, start to finish, and she would sell it for about 150pesos . . . only $12.50 canadian. can you imagine?? we thanked her for her time, left a tip, and browsed amongst some of the other stalls. a lot of the work is similar but each artisan seems to have their particular pattern. some even have a trademark which they embed somewhere onto their finished work. bonnie was looking for a couple of large decorative pieces for their home in huatulco and she is going home happy as she found what she wanted. we went back to guatalupe, who had given us the demo, and chose a small piece to pack back home . . . we left her with a big smile knowing that her new sales technique has paid off.
we then went on to the village of san martin tilcajete and spent some time with zeny fuentes and his wife reyna, who create beautiful woodcarvings and ‘alebrije’. as is typical of many households in this village, the whole family is involved . . . he carves, she paints, and zeny is teaching one of the children, an eleven year-old daughter, to carve just as he learned from his father. alebrije is a spanish word meaning ‘imaginary’ or ‘fantasy’. it is used to describe a style of fanciful and surreal animal carvings with near psychedilic paint. when we have seen these carvings in the past or in the markets in oaxaca city, i have always thought they were very colourful but had odd shapes and sizes. they often depict exaggerated view of various animals found in the region. again, watching the process, however, and getting an intimate demonstration, we have a new appreciation for the art. zeny explained some of his pieces. his wife, reyna, showed us some of her techniques and explained the symbols in her paintings . . . depictions of the sun, air, water and other natural things are found on most of their work. she can spend several weeks painting the delicate pictures on any one carving depending on it’s size. she used tiny brushes and maguey spines . . . that look like toothpicks, but are from the maguey plant (same one they make mescal from) . . . for the delicate work. a lot pricier than the pottery we've just seen, depending on the size, but a lot of work goes into these and each one is unique.
this couple also own the ugliest mutt on the planet. it is an aztec dog that is black and completely bald except for a tuft of very thin hair on its head. hyenas look like miss universe contestants compared to this dog . . . UGLY!
after shopping we were back at the casa for an afternoon nap around the pool. then out for a delicious and expensive supper . . . coconut shrimp and margaritas. whenever we spend a lot of money on a meal i always wonder why i’m hungry after we leave the restaurant. in case you were wondering . . . we did find a coffee shop and finish with cappuccinos and dessert. this may be a hard habit to break.
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