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[Enlarge] Children dance against the sunset near the handicrafts market in the Centro district of Morelia.

This has been a year when I learned many new things, went many new places, and met a world of wonderful people. It has not been as successful as I would have liked in some ways. In other ways it exceeded my expectations by a thousand kilometers. I have come to love this part of Mexico—the Bajio. The central highlands of Mexico are a world apart from the beach resorts or the streets of Mexico City that most people are more familiar with. And for those who think the border towns they visit represent what Mexico is—I can only say, you have to come to the Corazn de Mxico.

Back in November, my friend Delilah from San Miguel came to Morelia to see some of the areas around the city and spend some more time in what she lovingly calls, “the Paris of Mexico.” I agree in many ways. It isn’t because Morelia is a busy world center of commerce. It is busy, but it is because of the French and Spanish influence of Colonia Centro, the heart of the city. It is because of the art, food, music, ambience and the culture of a city that truly has a unique place in the world.

[Enlarge] A two-headed snail at a stone carver’s shop on the road to Quiroga

But ultimately, there has to be more and there is. Around Morelia and throughout the Bajio are many different areas, artisans, and wonderful things to see. You can tour it with guides and in buses or you can take the more intimate and chancy path of just striking out on your own. I have been fortunate to travel a lot in my life, and I still enjoy the sprit of discovery when I just head down an unknown road to find something new.

My condo is a nice place, but it is unfurnished and—well at this point it is nothing less than monastic. I have only a bed and a nightstand, which I am using as a desk as I type this. My computer is my stereo, my television, and through Skype, my voice connection to the world. So, wanting to know what it would take to bring a little more comfort to my existence, I decided I should see some of the artisan areas where I might find some reasonable furniture and art to brighten my world. Delilah is an interior designer and a lover of the arts, so she was also interested to see some of the areas that are famous for their crafts around Morelia.

We enlisted the help of my friend, Rigo, a taxi driver who has also worked in the US to take us to the area Southwest of Morelia broadly known as Ptzcuaro. Ptzcuaro is the name of a large lake surrounded with many pueblos and with several islands, some of which also have pueblos of their own. It is also the name of a pueblo near the lake where several routes to major cities in Mexico cross. My initial idea was to go to a couple of towns known for their furniture, Tupataro (This will be confusing to those who know of the Tupataro in Guanajuato, near Cueramaro, where I went to a fiesta recently. This is a different city and is in Michoacan) and Cuanajo. I knew of the larger region, but I thought it was better to keep my sights on a limited goal for this trip.

[Enlarge] A beautiful polychrome panel from a carver in Pátzcuaro

As it turned out, to get to Cuanajo, you have to go through Tupataro. If you look at this map, you will get an idea of the region. Tupataro and Cuanjo are near the bottom. We saw several interesting places on the roadsides in Tupataro, but we went on up a twisting narrow road to Cuanajo. I’m sure there are many people who would be happy with what we saw in Cuanajo, but honestly, the better quality work was in Tupataro. There are craftsmen and artisans who produce handmade furniture in many styles and who will also make anything you desire. I was overwhelmed. I know I will be returning to buy when I can.

But you can only spend so much time looking at tables, chairs and other pieces of furniture. We decided to head on to Ptzcuaro for some lunch and to see what was there. Across the street from the restaurant where we stopped, we found another roadside artisan display, this time of woodwork. Mouths agape, we wandered through the many workshops and saw more pieces than we could imagine. I won’t spend more time trying to describe what we found, but you can see it in the gallery section I have started titled, of course, “The Road to Quiroga.”

[Enlarge] A stone with a sketch that prepares it for carving lays against a beautiful statue of an old man at a stone carver’s business.

So to complete the trip, we did go up the side of the lake to Quiroga on our way back to Morelia. On the way, we passed a spot with several stone sculptures and carvers working so we decided to stop. The work we saw there was truly amazing. We could see hand cut statuary in every stage of development. We talked to the cutters and asked them where they got their inspiration. It turned out they went to the library and looked at pictures in old books and encyclopedias and then added their own inspiration to what they saw. Delilah gave in and bought some pieces for her patio garden. I am sure no one in San Miguel has ever seen anything quite like them.

This trip convinced me that I have to go back and see more of this region. Quiroga is the center for the crafts of the region and if you can only go one place to see the crafts of Michoacan, it is certainly on the short list. You can get to Quiroga by bus, taxi or car fairly easily and it is a beautiful area to go through. Quiroga itself is small city with a busy central district that is filled with small artisan shops. Some are owned by the artists and many are middlemen who bring the crafts to market.

[Enlarge] One of my favorite carvings - A woman grinding corn in the traditional way. I like the stylized arc of this traditional piece.

So, I will close this year with many more fotos still waiting for me to put them in their places. I will get to it, I promise. Because of this fotolog, I have heard from people all over Mexico and the world. I am happy what little time I have to spend on this brings happiness to others.

Feliz Anno Nuevo!

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December 30th, 2005 by Mike
Tagged as fotos | 1 Comment »

A

Hola,

Mi nombre es Javier. Por fabor fotografias de la escuela Jose V, Canchola Cortes y fotografias de estudiantes.

Gracias,
Javier

More than a month ago now, I received an email from a teacher in Wytheville, Virginia who had two students from Mexico. Mrs. Little wrote that Javier and Lupita Hernandez visited Memoria de la Foto and the gallery often to see the pictures of their home. They asked if I could take some fotos of their school and maybe some more of the children in town so they might see some of their friends.

I have been very busy lately, finishing a medical education project so this, like a lot of things I have wanted to do have fallen by the wayside. I hope these two children in Virginia, and a number of others all over the world, who have come to depend on my (infrequent) updates and fotos, will be pleased with this entry. Just yesterday I got Internet access via Telecable (we say Tell-E-cab-lay) and so now, in the evenings while I make my dinner and listen to podcasts, I can once again put new fotos on my fotolog.

[Enlarge] Escuela Jose V. Canchola Cortes, Cueramaro, Guanajuato.

I asked my friend Patty, who is a teacher in Cueramaro, where their school is. It turned out it was just down the street from our home, across from the soccer field. Normally, I am in Cueramaro on weekends, so the schools are closed and there is no access to the grounds. But, I stood on the low wall that holds the fence around the school and snapped a few fotos just the same. I also took some fotos of a girls’ soccer team playing in the late afternoon on the field that I am sure the kids are familiar with. It felt good to be able to take these fotos, it felt even better to get more of the Revolution Day parade a few weeks later.

[Enlarge] A girls’ soccer team plays on the city field late in the afternoon.

Revolution Day in Mexico is a time when the schools get a chance to show off with a parade that includes the young people and their teachers. The parade includes many of the athletic, artistic, and cultural activities the students participate in during the school year. For the proud parents and the community, it is an event that is looked forward to and enjoyed every year. I was lucky enough to be in Cueramaro this year for the parade and I realized that this was a time when I would have the opportunity to do what Javier had asked. I could take some fotos of the students of the schools in Cueramaro so kids (and adults) who had left Cueramaro could once again see some of their friends. Last year, when I took fotos of the parade, I was fairly selective when I decided which ones to put in my gallery. This year, knowing more about my viewers, I have included more fotos that, although they are somewhat repetitive, show many different faces. If you, like Javier and Lupita, would like to see some family or young friends from Cueramaro, I suggest you try this link to see the fotos from this year’s Revolution Day parade. You should also look in the Cueramaro gallery to see the fotos I took of the school (at the bottom of the page) and the girls on the soccer field.

Feliz Navidad to all my friends, wherever you are. I hope you are spending this holiday with family and friends and you enjoy these fotos of a small city in the Bajio of Mexico.

wp:thumb src=”2005-11-20-47.jpg” cap=”The youngest children line up to start the Revolution Day parade on the street in front of our home. Cueramaro, November 2005.”—> ->

December 18th, 2005 by Mike
Tagged as Cueramaro | No Comments »

About

I started a weblog/fotoblog many years ago under this name and it has seen many versions since then. This latest version is in WordPress and I am using Gallery to hold all the photos that accumulate over time. Both are open source projects with large communities of users and programers and I am indebted to all of them.

The subject of this fotoblog (as I call it) is my life between Mexico and the US. I currently have a home in Sacramento, CA and one in Cueramaro, Guanajuato, Mexico. Right now I am working in Sacramento and when I am in Mexico I work in Morelia, Michoacan with a wonderful group of application developers and I travel to and from various points in the US working with clients. One of these days I expect to move to Mexico permanently. It doesn’t make much sense to maintain a house you aren’t going to use. I am happy in the Bajio and expect to be there for a long time to come. I love the people and life I have here as much as anything I have ever experienced. It isn’t for everyone, but for me – it is wonderful.

I hope you enjoy my little attempts at fotos and stories as I go along. It is as much for me, my friends and family as anyone. If you enjoy it too – so much the better.