At the start of the Mexican Revolution (1910) painting in Mexico had reached an all-time low. The then President, Porfirio Diaz had been in power for more than 30 years and in the words of famous American art critic, Mackinley Helm, “nowhere else in the world, not even in Victorian England, had bad taste in […]
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“Does your husband ever carve nudes,” I asked Enedina Castillo Castillo, only half jokingly. She grinned up at me with those wise eyes. “Once he carved a David that looked like the one by Miguel Angel,” she assured me. “You mean the one in Italy,” I asked incredulously. “Sí, the one with the hands. “And the….” […]
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“There is a sensitive filament in our beings, which responds to Mexican music…. To the sight of a horse well ridden, to the spectacle of a bull skillfully lassoed…. All of us, absolutely all of us, share the national feeling for horsemanship.” José Alvarez del Villar Bill, my husband, answered the phone and handed it […]
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Ahhhh. Oohhh. Awww. Mmmmmm.” These are the sounds most often heard as bathers first step into a warm mineral pool. More and more North Americans are discovering the pleasures and benefits of soaking in mineral baths, as they seek cures for rheumatism, arthritis, and a multitude of other ailments. But the Mexicans have known the […]
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Tucked away between the towering hotels of Cancun’s sparkling shores is a cultural treasure known as La Casa del Arte Popular Mexicano. Perched atop the pier on Kukulcán Boulevard in Cancun’s hotel zone, the tiny museum is brimming with handcrafted pieces that reflect Mexico’s rich artistic legacy. Careful thought went into the creation of La […]
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Chapala, el mayor lago natural de México está muriendo. En este tiempo el lago juega un papel vital en un gigantesco ecosistema, la cuenca hidrológica del río Lerma – lago Chapala, que incluye a más de 8 millones de personas, 3,500 de industrias diversas, 750,000 hectáreas de tierras de riego y 14 ciudades con poblaciones […]
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Orquídea. La sola palabra conjura todo aquello que es bello, exótico, raro. Un aura de fascinación ha rodeado siempre a esta extraordinaria familia de plantas. Su cultivo se considera algo esotérico y difícil. Nada más alejado de la verdad. En un clima como el que disfrutamos en Guadalajara y sus alrededores, mantener una sana y […]
Continue ReadingRecently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Efren Gonzalez at his home in Ajijic, a home he is building entirely from the sale of his paintings. For years he has struggled with the dream of living and supporting his family from his art; a dream he now realizes everyday, brick by brick. Born on June […]
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It was a chance thing, really. We were heading for Patzcuaro, almost due south of Guanajuato where we had spent the past several days on a photography and business junket. While we were checking out of our small hotel just this side of the tunnels that snake under old Guanajuato, the otherwise taciturn gentleman who […]
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Holiday poinsettias are as much a part of the Christmas fabric as the Nativity scene or the traditional wreaths. Native to Mexico, poinsettias are classic winter bloomers. Commonly known here as flores de nochebuena, or flowers of the Holy Night, have come to resonate with Christians beyond the country’s borders. As many as 500 million fire plants […]
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