A dying art comes alive
By Susan Page December 19, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Inlaid Wood Exhibition
Sat–Sun, Dec 20–21, noon–4pm
Galería Atotonilco
185-2225

As with many Mexican traditions, the delicate craft of inlaid wood has European roots but is now a fully Mexican art form incorporating eagles, traditional floral motifs and pre-Columbian designs.

Although it flourished in the nineteenth century, only a handful of families in two towns are still creating wood-on-wood inlay work. For December, Galería Atotonilco will feature one of the finest wood-inlay artists currently working in Mexico.

Justino Huerta was born in Santa Maria del Rio, a town where some of the finest rebozos in Mexico are created. Older Mexican women drape these large shawls with delicate patterns around their heads and young mothers use them to carry their babies. A hand-woven rebozo can require a month of work to complete and the very finest ones are made of pure silk, so the need arose naturally for an especially beautiful box in which to store a fine rebozo when it was not being worn. Thus, the crafts of rebozo weaving and inlaid wood rebozo boxes grew up together in this small town. Santa Maria del Rio is widely known as a weaving center, but few are aware that it is one of only two towns in all of Mexico where the delicate art of wood inlay still thrives.

Justino Huerta, his son Federico and several members of their extended family are creating dazzling works of art using a variety of woods including sycamore, maple and ash for lighter colors, mahogany for reddish hues and even ebony for contrasting designs in black.

The boxes themselves are made from pine, mesquite, or cedar. Although they were originally made to store rebozos, they now come in a variety of sizes and have many other uses.

Galería Atotonilco, usually open only by appointment, will be open every Saturday and Sunday between now and Christmas, noon–4pm. In addition to the boxes, which are affordably priced and ideal for holiday gifts, the gallery exhibits quality folk art from all over Mexico including wood carvings, ceramics, and papier-mâché; Huichol beaded jewelry in fashion colors; country antique furniture; historic photographs of nineteenth-century Mexico; vintage rebozos and the largest private collection of historic serapes in Mexico. For directions to the gallery, located five miles north of town near La Gruta spa and the historic church at Atotonilco, look for our half-page ad in this issue, or call 185-2225. 

Susan Page is the founder and director of the San Miguel Authors' Sala and Literary Society.

Oaxacan Textiles
Mon, Wed–Sat, 10am–8pm
Sun & Tues, 10am–6pm
Juana Cata
Recreo 5-A
152-6417

High-quality artistic textiles in San Miguel
By Grace Svarre

The state of Oaxaca has long been recognized for its variety of hand-woven textiles. In order to have a deserving showplace for these wonderful works of art, in April of this year Dra. Maria Isabel Grañén Porrúa and her husband, Alfredo Harp Helú, donated to the capital city the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. On November 9, the museum honored Remigio Mestas of Oaxaca and San Miguel de Allende with an exhibition of his textiles, which continues until February 16, 2009.

Remigio, a Zapotec Indian born in Yalalag, Oaxaca, emigrated to the capital city when he was barely four years old. His mother was a weaver and his father a tailor. Their lives in the city revolved around the local market where Remigio and his three brothers sold the works produced by their parents. He later attended school in the mornings and worked in the afternoons for a shop which sold textiles and Oaxacan crafts. While Remigio appreciated the beauty of the crafts, his principal interest was the work of the weavers. He was very soon able to distinguish which pieces were better made than others, what designs were from which region, the distinct types of weave and embroidery and how the fibers and dyes were employed. His keen sense of observation led him to notice how the use of industrialized materials deteriorated the quality of the traditional textiles.

During his years in secondary school, he became a partner of his employer who had noticed his exceptional aptitude for anything pertaining to textiles and together they opened a new store, Juana Cata, which sold more artistic textiles of better quality. Following secondary school, he attended university and graduated as a public accountant which would benefit him in his world of business. For a short time Remigio worked in this field but soon realized that his passion was the work of the weavers and it was clear to him that he would dedicate himself to this noble cause. It would become his life.

Remigio had acquired various old pieces of weaving during these years, but now he began in earnest to travel to the numerous remote villages in the outlying areas of the state seeking out the best weavers. He perceived that a clientele waited who were interested in exquisite work made from fine and authentic materials. He then personally began dyeing the threads that the weavers would use to be certain of the quality of the dyes. A new first stage in Oaxacan textiles began this way.

In 2002, to expand his knowledge, Remigio and his wife Jorgina, herself a designer and seamstress, travelled to Morocco, India and Tibet where they investigated materials, weaving and techniques of dying with natural dyes. They wanted to include anything new that could be used in Mexico by their weavers. To this day Remigio imports fine Egyptian cotton for his best weavers, which gives their work an exceptionally high quality.

Today he employs over 200 people throughout Oaxaca. In those products where Mexican cotton is used it is grown in Oaxaca, harvested and cleaned, then spun by hand on the pre-Hispanic spindle. From there it goes to other workers who prepare and dye the threads. Some aniline dyes are used along with natural dyes such as cochineal, indigo and the purple produced by the snail from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Following these procedures the weavers, on their pre-Hispanic backstrap looms, weave their magic into the beautiful pieces you will find in Juana Cata in Oaxaca and in San Miguel, which recently moved from calle Zacateros to Recreo 5-A.

The well-deserved homage and exhibition paid to Remigio at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca is a tribute to a young man whose life is to illumine the qualities of well made textiles. The museum has beautifully displayed 24 textiles from Remigio’s personal collection, as well as from other public and private collectors.

Among those present at the inauguration were family and friends of Remigio who travelled great distances to attend the event. Also present were the founders of the museum, Isabel Grañén Porrúa and her husband Alfredo Harp Helú; museum curator Alejandro de Ávila, one of the most prominent textile authorities in Latin American; la Sra. Francisco Toledo and many other prominent experts and noted collectors. Judy and Gary Fink and others attended from San Miguel. Many guests wore huipiles from Juana Cata.

Remigio divides his time between San Miguel and his other store in Oaxaca. If you are interested in authentic Oaxacan textiles of the finest quality you will enjoy a visit to Juana Cata here, just a block from the Jardín. When in San Miguel, Remigio will be happy to give you his time. Designs and clothing by his talented wife and partner Jorgina Perez also are on display.

The world of bullfights in photo exhibit 

Art Opening
Fiesta Brava
Jason Morgan
Mon, Dec 22, 5pm
Mama Mia
Umarán 8

The “Fiesta Brava,” the world of bullfights, first became popular in the non-Latin world with the publication of Ernest Hemingway’s stories and novels of the twenties.

To this day throughout the world, anyone who wishes to study American literature is required to read the works of “Don Ernesto” Hemingway.

Jason Morgan, known throughout the taurine world as “Morgan,” is a long-time resident of San Miguel and has traveled extensively within the bullfight worlds of Mexico and Spain. Morgan, while in his early teens, became captivated by Hemingway’s works and today, more than 50 years later, he continues to be intrigued by this fascinating world of determined men who choose to confront fearsome beasts.

Morgan’s articles and photographs have been published worldwide in newspapers and magazines, and on the internet. He also has published two books, one in Spain and the other in Mexico, regarding his experiences during the years he traveled with the world’s leading matador, Julian Lopez Escobar, known professionally as “El Juli.”

For this holiday season, San Miguel’s Mama Mia announces an exhibition of Morgan’s taurine photography. The exhibition benefits the San Miguel youth association, Patronato Pro Juventud Sanmiguelense.

Pro Juventud is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for the young people of the economically deprived areas of our pueblo. Pro Juventud plans to open community centers for indoor soccer and learning centers to teach computer technology and other skills. Mama Mia proprietor José Luna is president. For this worthy cause, 50 percent of photo sales at the exhibition go to Pro Juventud. 

The Balloon’s Knot
By Jorge Coro

Art Opening
El nudo del globo
Joaquín Piñeiro
Sat, Dec 20, 7pm
Galería Mero Arte Contemporáneo 
Zacateros 24

In his new series of paintings, “The Balloon’s Knot,” Joaquín Piñeiro offers us his latest works in search of pure abstraction.

 The artist’s technique as well as his choice of materials unfolds on the canvas, provoking accidents akin to those that occur every day in nature, in the ocean’s waves, in the fall of a leaf from a tree that leaves its mark on the sand below, in the footprints of a nocturnal animal of prey. 

The artist does not arrive at a preconceived goal or predestined colors. The work—and his desire—is to explore and to discover, to handle a paintbrush and the open flame of a torch at the same time, to confront the meeting of water with fire in their infinite fight.

The challenge is to not fall into the temptation to prohibit even one drop of paint from taking its free path across the canvas but to let it be.


On this path, the observer will find himself imagining forests, clouds, jungles seen from the sky—he will find himself imagining.

Instituto Allende showcases Marion Perlet
By Jaime Fernández

Art Opening
Marion Perlet
Sat, Dec 20, 6pm 
James Pinto Gallery
Instituto Allende
Ancha de San Antonio 20

The James Pinto Gallery inside Instituto Allende features painter Marion Perlet in a special exhibition opening Saturday. 

Born in Munich, Perlet is a naturalized Canandian citizen who has made San Miguel her home since 1992. She studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Montreal.

Over a prolific 40-year career, Perlet’s images in rich, vibrant colors have ensured attention for her accomplished body of work.

Recently, her paintings have been on view in the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City, the state art museum in Guanajuato and in San Miguel at various venues. Her work has been described as somewhat naive, perhaps even childlike in its charm. Others have tagged her paintings as visceral, in a symbolist manner. Still others think her images might stem from the roots of Eastern philosophies, along with the mysteries involved in the creation of art. Perlot’s canvases are large and small; some are delicate in appearance and others are rude and robust.

Perlot’s eye-opening new collection will hang in the James Pinto Gallery throughout the holidays. The Saturday evening reception will have complimentary refreshments. More representations of Perlot’s paintings can be viewed at http://www.myartclub.com/artist.php?xyz=1288. 





.