Jessi’s blog: History of Chocolate in the New World

Liquid Chocolate

While we tend to think of chocolate as a traditionally European confectionary. However, chocolate’s history actually goes back to Latin America where the cacao tree resides. The beans inside the plant are what create chocolate.

It can be traced back to 1500 BCE, in the Olmec civilization. It was typically used as a drink, not quite yet a solid food.  Chocolate was reserved for adult males and consumed by priests, government officials, military officers. Thus only men were really allowed to drink chocolate because it was considered intoxicating, and unsuitable for women or children.

In Aztec culture, chocolate was used with chilli peppers, and vanilla for flavors, bee honey for sweetner. When the Spanish settlers arrived, they adapted Aztec chocolate for their own pallets. Cortes took it back to the Spanish court, where it was only ingested by Spanish royalty. The Spanish added a tool called the “molinillo”, a wood stirring stick to smooth it out.  Indigenous peoples were taken as slaves in the colonies ito harvest and process the chocolate and sugar. They did so for two hundred years.

It wasn’t until the 1600s that the rest of Europe was introduced to chocolate, and they went crazy for it. The Dutch, English, and French sought out colonies that could produce cacao trees. As Europeans became more familiar with chocolate, they removed the chili pepper,

added flavors such as anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange peel, and replaced the bee honey with cane sugar. By the late 18th century,

Europeans had the production of chocolate down.

For more information:
History.org
Archive.FieldMuseum.org

By Jessica Shakarian

More of Jessica’s Blogs:
“Cesar Chavez”
“Indigenous Body Art”
“Jose Guadalupe Posada”
“Calvario”
“La Catrina”
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights”
“Aztec Death Rituals” 
“La Malinche”
“Tequila”
“Mariachi Music”
“What was Mexico Like?”
“El Dia de Los Muertos” 
“Baja Cave Paintings”
“Mexico & WWII” 

Featured Art: Talavera

Talavera

 

I always say that Mexico is a land of artists. I feel like Dorothy landing in Oz. Everything is so colorful making other places seem so drab by comparison. Nothing exhibits this more than the Talavera tile and pottery that you can see everywhere.
Authentic Talavera pottery only comes from the city of Puebla and the surrounding area because of the quality of the natural clay that is found there and a history that goes back to the 16th century.
Talavera pottery is the Mexican variation of the Spanish majolica earthenware, a white and glazed type of ceramic. Although the Spaniards introduced this type of pottery, ironically, the term Talavera is used much more in Mexico than in Talavera de la Reina, Spain. In fact, Talavera is the oldest tin-glazed ceramic in America and it is still being manufactured

Talavera Craftsman

with the same techniques as in the 16th century. Two kinds of clay are mixed together (traditionally by foot) and made manually on a potter’s wheel or in a mold and then left to dry for between eight to six weeks. They are then fired at a temperature of 850ºC during which they take on on the typical color of clay (Jaguete). The pieces or tile is then immersed in varnish which gives it its gloss and color. Once glazed the pieces are painted with special mule hair brushes and decorated with mineral based paints which allows them to remain outside without ever losing their color. These pieces are built to last for centuries. Last but not least the piece is fired again, this time at 1050ºC to give them the gloss of true Talavera pottery and tile.
Talavera was not only limited to the production of pots, plates, jars and religious figures. It also reached other spheres of life in Puebla like, the azulejos (tiles), ornately decorated cupolas, façades of monasteries and other buildings. Talavera was the quintessential element of Puebla’s baroque architecture. They were splendidly used in kitchens, these fantastic

Talavera Tile

culinary ‘laboratories’ from which so many dishes were created. The use of azulejos denoted the prosperity of the owners of a particular house or building. So much so, that a popular saying at that time stated that someone that wouldn’t amount to anything in life would never have a Casa de Azulejos or a ‘house of tiles’. Talavera is still very popular, and pieces of extraordinary quality are still being produced and are very expensive. Unfortunately there are also many poor imitations. When you buy an authentic Talavera piece, it must be signed at the base by the workshop that produces it, and it must state that it is from Puebla. Talavera is the name given only to the earthenware produced in Puebla. If you have a chance to go to Puebla, don’t miss the opportunity to learn and admire this centuries old tradition.

Jessi’s Blog: Mexico & WWI

Zimmerman's Telegram

Today’s piece is going to be something a little bit different. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me (and I’m sure if you’ve been a regular reader) that I’m a history nerd. I studied it in my undergrad, and continue to collect history books. As of late, my interest has revolved around the years of the First World War (1914-1918). I’ve been working with Mexico A Boomer’s Guide for quite some time, and a question dawned upon me. What was Mexico’s role in this war? Mexico was not one of the major players of World War One (England, France, Germany, US, and Russia were among the stars of the show). However, the country played a crucial role in the pull to bring a reluctant US into the war.

Arthur Zimmerman

While Europe was fighting, and the US was trying to remain neutral, Mexico was facing it’s own larger problems. The Mexican Revolution in 1910 had left the country on shaky ground. Over the course of ten years, several rulers had come and gone and the country had broken out into a civil war. It wasn’t until 1917 that a Constitution was passed through the country, and fighting continued until 1920.

At the end of January 1917, the German government was desperate to break the stalemated trench warfare. They announced that it would resume unrestricted submarine attacks. As a consequence, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany and further events pushed the nation even closer to war.

On March 1, newspapers published a telegram from German foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman to the Mexican government, proposing a  German-Mexican alliance against the United States. For attacking the United States, the Mexicans would recoup lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. These states were lost in the Mexican-American War in 1848. The telegram was intercepted by British crytographers, and was published widely in American newspapers and inflamed popular opinion against the Germans.

The Zimmerman Telegram was an important changing point in the war because shortly after, the US declared war against Germany. Mexico declined the alliance proposal, but it would have made a considerable impact on the US’ ability to fight Germany.  One can only imagine how much the modern world would have changed if that had been the case.

By Jessica Shakarian

More of Jessica’s Blogs:
“Cesar Chavez”
“Indigenous Body Art”
“Jose Guadalupe Posada”
“Calvario”
“La Catrina”
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights”
“Aztec Death Rituals” 
“La Malinche”
“Tequila”
“Mariachi Music”
“What was Mexico Like?”
“El Dia de Los Muertos” 
“Baja Cave Paintings”

Tesoros de Mexico: Yal-Ku

Yal-Ku

Our amiga Leslie, of Holbox fame, is always on the hunt for beautiful and exciting snorkeling

Akumal Beach

adventures. Recently she returned from the Yucatan and wanted to share her experience at Yal Ku

Yal-Ku

lagoon in the small community of Akumal. Akumal is a small beach-front tourist resort community south of Cancún, between the towns of Playa del Carmen and Tulum Yal Ku is an estuary where salt and fresh water meet. The water is about 6 to 15 ft deep and is so clear and calm you just can’t wait to jump in!! Leslie started her adventure in Playa del Carmen. She negotiated directly with her driver for a mutually

Cenotes

acceptable fee for the ride there and back and the driver agreed to wait a couple of hours for her. Can’t beat that!!! On her drive down she noticed “cenotes”  (surface connections to subterranean bodies of water) on the

Yal-Ku Statue

other side of the highway. Conceivably you could combine the two activities in one day, that is Yal Ku and the cenotes… but Leslie warns that even though the cenote water is crystal clear, it’s very cold so it would be better to wait on a warm day to dive into that chilly water.

Yal-Ku Statue

Yal Ku is like a little park. There is a small entrance fee and there are bathrooms and outdoor showers at the entrance. You can rent cabanas along the estuary for about $20 if you want. Leslie walked down the rustic pathway through the woods when all of a sudden she saw this beautiful sculpture. Suddenly there were beautiful sculptures and works of art everywhere!!! They’re all unique and genuine original pieces.

There are these little tiny paths going in all different directions to these small little coves. Sometimes people are there…. sometimes not. If you want privacy just take another path that will lead to another little cove area.

Great snorkeling at Yal-Ku

To help snorkelers there are platforms and stairs in the water for easy entering and exiting. Once in the water there is an abundance of exotic marine life. Another interesting feature is the underwater landscape, which is really quite amazing! If you’re lucky you can swim with the sea turtles.

Seaturtle

Actually Akumal means “place where the turtles nest” in Mayan. Leslie says she snorkeled for about 2 hours and then took the little path that leads back to the entrance. There is a little snack shop at the lagoon but you can have a first class meal on the Akumal beach. Sounds like a great afternoon! Next time I won’t miss it!!!!

Featured Art: America

America (sand and vinylite on canvas 13' 2'' by 45' 10)

 

Mexican Painter Rufino Tamayo was commissioned by the Bank of the Southwest in 1955. It took him 5 months, working 7 days a week to complete. The mural is 13′ 2” tall by 45′ 10 3/8′ wide. America was painted at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico and then rolled up and sent to Houston where it was installed in the banks lobby.

America allegorically portrays the history and richness of the continent. Abundance is reflected in the scale of the mural. The fish represent the wealth of the sea. The plant, symbolizes  the richness of the land. There is an oil geyser and a spring of water representing the abundance of our underground resources. In the upper part of the mural two figures embrace. These figures represent the melting of the races whose cultural contributions enrich our spirit! The figure on the left is the white race and next to the figure is the cross symbolizing Occidental culture. The figure on the right, in brown, symbolizes the indigenous people whose culture is represented by Quetzacoatl, the feathered serpent and symbol of the pre-Columbian culture. This painting is rendered in Tomayo’s signature style.

America combines aspects of cubism and futurism with epic qualities of Mexican mural painting and the New York school. It’s forms derived from Meso-American art with a vibrant palette of red, blues, okras, greens and subtle gradations of grey and white.

 

 

Rufino Tamayo

Rufino Tamayo was a contemporary of fellow Mexican artists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Unlike these muralists, however, whose work held strong political commentary, Tamayo eschewed this path and forged his own. The subject matter found in his work is apolitical and purposefully so.

Although his work is embedded with distinctly Mexican roots, both in color and in subject, Tamayo’s art is ultimately a response to universal and not temporal matters. Tamayo’s lack of enthusiasm for political commentary was not appreciated by Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros who firmly prescribed that important art had to address the societal injustices of the day. Finding his work criticized in Mexico, Tamayo left the country to live for extended periods in both the United States and France. This decision proved beneficial for Tamayo who created many of his important works abroad

Born in Oaxaca to parents of Zapotecan Indian ancestry, Tamayo’s cultural heritage is evident in his artwork. Orphaned at a young age, Tamayo was sent to live with his aunt in Mexico City. The young artist worked as a vendor at his aunt’s fruit stand, helping her sell produce. The bright and beautiful colors of the tropical fruit has been credited as influencing the artist’s future palette. This experience also provided the catalyst for a favorite motif of Tamayo’s, namely the watermelon, which is depicted in many of his works. As a young man, Tamayo attended the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, San Carlos, in Mexico City but left before graduating to pursue his studies independently.

some excerpts courtesy of Mexonline and Mid-Centuria

Jessi’s Blog: Baja Cave Paintings

x

Cave Painting

The Great Murals are located in the mountains of Guadalupe, San Francisco, San Juan, and San Borja in the central part of the Baja California peninsula. They are dated at roughly 7500 years old, showing mostly wildlife and human interaction (such as hunting, or deer running). The designs are a numerous, stretching miles down the mountains. The only way to get to it is by a three day mule, up a windy path up the mountain.

The murals were discovered by Jesuit missionaries between 1683 and 1720.  The Jesuits thought it was the work of the

El Parral XIV

local Cochimí Indian population, but the Cochimí did not take recognition for them, insisting that it was a race of giants as the rock paintings are larger than humans.

The paintings—and the many rock engravings found in the Sierra—are the work of the prehistoric population that inhabited the Baja California peninsula. They are reminscent of the Lascaux caves in France, filled with prehistoric drawings of animals that can only been known today as fossils.

No consensus exists about the motivations that led to the painting of the Great Murals. Among the contexts suggested for their production have been hunting magic, warfare,

San Borjitas

shamans’ traces, weather control, and ancestor veneration. Whatever the reason may be, they are part of UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, and with a rightful reason. They are beautiful reminders of the unificaiton of humanity over a vast amount of time; and the truly classic depiction of art, as it also is the indictation of a race of people otherwise unknown

 

 

 

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By Jessica Shakarian

 

 

 

 

 

More of Jessica’s Blogs:
“Cesar Chavez”
“Indigenous Body Art”
“Jose Guadalupe Posada”
“Calvario”
“La Catrina”
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights”
“Aztec Death Rituals” 
“La Malinche”
“Tequila”
“Mariachi Music”
“What was Mexico Like?”
“El Dia de Los Muertos” 

Tesoros de Mexico: Vanilla

Vanilla

Did you know that vanilla originated in Mexico? The history of vanilla goes back to ancient times? It was the Totonac who first cultivated this bean. They used it in rituals believing that the Gods had bestowed this exotic fruit upon them. They inhabited the Mazantla Valley on the Gulf Coast of Mexico near present-day Vera Cruz. According to Totonaca mythology, the tropical orchid was born when Princess Xanat, forbidden by her father from marrying a mortal, fled to the forest with her lover. The lovers were captured and beheaded. Where their blood touched the ground, the vine of the tropical orchid grew.

In the fifteenth century Aztecs, from the central highlands of Mexico, conquered the Totonac and the conquerors soon developed a taste for the vanilla bean. Whereas most tribes paid tribute to the Aztecs in the form of maize or gold, the Totonaca sent vanilla beans to the Aztec kings. The Totonaco were demanded to relinquish their exotic fruit of the Tlilxochitl vine, the vanilla beans.

History repeated itself when, in turn, the Aztecs were defeated by the conquering Spaniard, Hernando Cortez. He returned to Spain with the precious plunder – vanilla beans – which were combined with cacao to make an unusual and pleasing drink. For eighty years, this special beverage was only enjoyed by the nobility and the very rich.

Vanilla comes from a plant that grows as a vine. It is actually a member of the orchid family. The vine produces a long green fruit, which eventually becomes the vanilla bean we know and love.

The plant has both female and male parts, but they are separated so that self-pollination cannot happen naturally. In fact, the only way this flower could be pollinated up until the mid-19th century is through a certain type of bee that was found only in Mexico. In 1819, however, French entrepreneurs shipped vanilla beans to the Réunion and Mauritius islands with the hope of producing vanilla there. Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave from Réunion Island, discovered how to pollinate the flower by hand. Now Vanilla is grown in 5 main areas of the world. Madagascar and Indonesia produce 90 percent of the world’s vanilla bean crop. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron, because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor intensive, the flowers bloom for less than 1 day. So workers must keep a constant vigil for opening flowers in order to pollinate them. Once pollinated, the bean starts to grow a few weeks later. The bean is left on the vine for 9 months, then cut down and dried in the sun for several weeks or months. Afterwards, it’s set in a box to dehydrate and finally shipped to your supermarket. The whole process from pollination to shipment takes about 1 year!

Mexico, where the vanilla orchid originated, now produces only a small percentage of the worlds harvest. Mexican vanilla beans are described as creamy, sweet, smooth and spicy. Absolutely delicioso!!

Tesoros de Mexico: Voladores de Popontla

Voladores

Volador climbing

It was on my first visit to the Mayan ruins in Tulum that I first saw Los Voladores de Papantla. As we were returning to our parked car after visiting the ruins, we saw 5 men dressed in brilliantly colored  costumes climbing a pole that looked about 30 to 40 meters high. At the top is a platform. One of the men stands in the middle of

Starting descent

the platform and plays the flute and the other 4 men tie their ankles to ropes that are wrapped around the pole and then they jump off, head first with arms outstretched flying gracefully around and around as the ropes unwind until they reach the ground. No kidding!!

Now as a person who is terrified of heights I think I stopped breathing until the last man reached the ground. It was really impressive. There are no nets, no mats, nothing that would break their fall. It’s terrifying and thrilling at the same time.

Volador flying

The ‘Voladores de Papantla’ are Totonac Indians. Although the ritual did not originate with the Totonacs, today it is most strongly associated with the Totonacs of the Papantla area in the state of Veracruz.

Totonaca myth tells of a time when there was a great drought, and food and water grew scarce throughout the land. Five young men decided that they must send a message to Xipe Totec, God of fertility so that the rains would return and nurture the soil, and their crops would again flourish. So they went into the forest and searched for the tallest, straightest tree they could find. When they came upon the perfect tree, they stayed with it overnight, fasting and praying for the tree’s spirit to help them in their quest. The next day they blessed the tree, then felled it and carried it back to their village, never allowing it to touch the ground. Only when they decided upon the perfect location for their ritual, did they set the tree down. The men stripped the tree of its leaves and branches, dug a hole to stand it upright, then blessed the site with ritual offerings. The men adorned their bodies with feathers so that they would appear like birds to Xipe Totec, in hope of attracting the god’s attention to their important request. With vines wrapped around their waists, they secured themselves to the pole and made their plea through their flight and the haunting sound of the flute and drum.*

After the last man, the player slides down. The leader then asks if anyone would like to make a donation to the spirits and to the men who performed the dance. I don’t think I brought enough cash to match the value of that awesome performance!!!!

Los Voladores

 

Totonaca folkloretaken from Vanilla Company
top photo taken from TresCarnales.com

© 2009-2011 Mexico A Boomer’s Guide

Jessi’s Blog: El Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos

It’s a human occurrence to celebrate life and death around autumn: Samhain, Halloween, the celebration of growing crops coupled with the dying process of leaves. In Mexican culture, they have their own holiday, El Dia De Los Muertos, the day of the dead. It’s not actually a day but two days, November first and second. They coincide with the Catholic holidays All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, each on the respective dates.

It’s not just about the death of friends and family, but the celebration of their life. Many families take these days to go to cemeteries, decorate their loved ones’ burial sites. One common practice is the set up of platforms, adorned with candles, colorful painted skulls (also known as sugar skulls), pictures of lost loved ones, and their belongings.  Sugar skulls are seen as uniquely Mexican in contemporary culture, but actually come from Italian missionaries, who made sugar art.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of a Dia De Los Muertos event, and we put together an alter for those we had lost. There was also food, given as an offering to the weary souls. We each brought a food item for our loved one being honored, and everyone got to share a story for the person that they recognized on the alter. I felt very lucky to be a part of such an event

The holiday dates back to the days of the Aztecs, when the Spanish arrived, they were horrified to see the idealization of human skulls. The skulls were used as trophies to celebrate death and life. They had a festival for the Queen of the Underworld, a goddess called Mictecacihuatl (talk about a tongue twister). It was thought that she preceeded over the festival; today, she is a part of the festivities around Mexico, if just for the historical significance of the longevity of this holiday. Many other cultures and peoples have their own similar holidays celebrating the dead and the joy of life.

By Jessica Shakarian

read more of Jessi’s blogs:

 

“Cesar Chavez“
“Indigenous Body Art“
“Jose Guadalupe Posada“
“Calvario“
“La Catrina“
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights“
“Aztec Death Rituals“
“Mosaic Skull”
“La Malinche”
“Tequila”
“Mariachi Music” 

Jessi’s Blog: “What was Mexico Like?”

Chitzen Itza

One of our lovely readers has asked: “What was Mexico like before the Spanish arrived?” This is a difficult question, because history is written by the winners. There is information available, but mostly from an archaeological perspective. It dates back from early AD to 1519, when Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico. I will do my best to provide some information to pique your interest.
Before Hernan Cortez set foot on Mexican soil, there were indigenous peoples living all over Mexico and North America that date back 13,000 years. They were made up of

different cultures, like the Maya or the Aztecs,* which I have discussed previously.  They each had their own economic systems, usually based

Mayan ruins at Tulum

around agriculture. Much of the period before colonization is defined by the various civilizations that once stood. The Mayans built pyramids along the Yucatan Peninsula, in Chichen Itza which is just outside of Cancun.
The Aztecs may have reached as far north as the present day United

Toltec Warriors at Tula

States. Their capital was situated in present day Mexico City. The Toltecs today are known for their pyramids, and their statues in Tula. Many of them created methods of agriculture, astronomy, and

mathematics that are still used today. Their religion was based around two gods, Quetzlcoatl, the serpent god and Tezcatipoca, the smoked mirror.Their religion focused on human sacrifice to appease the gods. .  In addition to sacrifice, the Their religion also included a game called tlatchli.  It is much like basketball, as the goal is to get the ball through the hole on the wall, but one cannot touch the ball with one’s hands.

Tlachtli

Though these cultures were once great nations, they have either fallen apart, due to colonization of various sorts. The Aztecs were the latest, falling to the Spanish in 1591, but the Mayans disappeared rather mysteriously in the 9th century. However, their effects on contemporary culture is innumerable. For example, the Toltecs’ pyramids showed

Maya Calendar

archaeologists that the great pyramids are not just in Egypt. The Aztecs gave us chocolate, a 365 day/year calendar, and gum. The Mayans created their calendar using extensive knowledge about math and astronomy. So the next time you’re chewing gum or admiring the incoming fall weather, think about how far we’ve come to create our modern world.

 

 

 

By Jessica Shakarian

 

 

 

 

 

“Cesar Chavez“
“Indigenous Body Art“
“Jose Guadalupe Posada“
“Calvario“
“La Catrina“
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights“
“Aztec Death Rituals“
“Mosaic Skull”
“La Malinche”
“Tequila”
“Mariachi Music” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tesoros de Mexico: Chankanaab

Chankanaab

One of my favorite memories about Cozumel was Chankanaab and swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Discovery.

Chakanaab is a Mayan word meaning “little sea”. It was named for the natural salt water lagoon formation located in the interior of

Lagoon

the island. It is a unique formation in Cozumel’s calcareous limestone base and it has been shaped by erosive forces. The lagoon is connected to the ocean by a series of underwater limestone caves. In 1980 Chankanaab was decreed as a National Park to protect diverse and ecologically sensitive regions of flora and fauna. The park has different sections….. The first place you will see will be the entrance palm house. Here is where you can buy your admission tickets. There are meandering paths

Gardens

that lead you through a maze of beautiful plants that are indigenous to the region. Most are grown in the park nursery. The diversity of the vegetation is amazing.  There’s a little archway that leads to a replica of an ancient Mayan village and life size statues of ancient Mayan, Toltec and Aztec gods; that

are set in a jungle like environment. Snorkeling is great in the lagoon you can see a statue of the Virgin Mary submersed in the sea that is said to protect Chankanaab.

Sikil-Pak weaves

Chankanaab has many palapas and lounge chairs. You can rent lockers, snorkel gear, almost anything even a towel… just bring yourself!!! However my main reason for going to Chankanaab was

“Dolphin Discovery”……

I had never swam with dolphins on Cozumel Island but I had swam twice on Isla Mujeres with the Discovery people. Just like on Isla Mujeres, Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel is set in a natural

Palapas

location, right in the ocean. It seemed to me that if the dolphins wanted to jump into the open water they were more than capable of doing it. That might have been an illusion on my part but it made me feel very comfortable about swimming with them in that environment. It’s a little expensive but I felt it was well worth the cost.

Usually a small group of 5 or 6 people swim with two dolphins. As I swam with the dolphins, I noticed a dolphin I had swam with the previous year. Her name was Fatima and she was one of the

Fatima and friend

older dolphins. While we were in free time I noticed Fatima wasn’t there and we were swimming with only one dolphin. I asked our instructor… “Where did Fatima go?”. “Oh she’s chatting with one of her friends (another dolphin)” our instructor said… “she’ll come back if she wants to”. No kidding!  I really liked that… no forced labor here.

Actually Fatima did come back and flirted shamelessly with the only young man in our group. It was a really fun day and a really fun place. I enjoyed Cozumel equally and made a few new friends (dolphins). Maybe I’ll swim with them again next time. It’s great swimming with old friends.

Sisie and new friend

Featured Art: “Sol y Maracas” by Mario Mizrahi

Sol y Maracas

On one of our trips to Cozumel we met this most amazing artist. Both Leslie and I fell in love with his work. His use of colour and a almost ethereal imaging really caught our attention. In fact my amiga Leslie commisioned him right on the spot to paint her a picture which she exhibits proudly above her fireplace today.

I’ve chosen a piece called “Sol y Maracas”.
Mario Mizrahi (the artist) told me the idea came when he was going on a snorkeling trip and “el lanchero” (The boatman) was singing a song about a musical siren. The next day he began painting this piece. It’s a mixed technique, it’s textures and acrylics over a panel of tropical wood. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Mario Mazrahi was born in Mexico city, He moved to the Island of Cozumel, and lived

Mario Mizrahi

there for 16 years. He also studied and practiced his art for 10 years in Oaxaca – one of Mexico’s most famous cultural centers. He now lives and paints in San Miquel de Allende. Mario has exhibited his works in San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca and Cozumel in Mexico, as well as Madrid and Valencia in Spain.

Visit!!!”Mundo Mizrahi” Mario’s website. It is well worth the trip!!!

Tesoros de Mexico: Mariachi Music

Mariachi Sombrero and Guitar

 

Mariachi music is a big part of Mexican culture and history The musical ensemble has changed as Mexico has changed; it has moved with conquests and revolutions. Today it is a big part of Mexico’s nationalistic pride, but is well-known as music of love due to the serenades that make up much of the genre.

For the most part, the word “mariachi” is unknown. One theory is that is comes from the wood to make the platform where dancers danced to the music. At the time of the Spanish conquest, many of the instruments used (like drums) were deemed heathenistic, thus being removed from the band. Indigenous peoples created their own instruments as well. The modern understanding of mariachi music comes out of the Jalisco region (followers of my posts will remember that this is where tequila comes from!)

Even though Mariachi music is several hundreds of years old, it was mostly an art form that indigenous people used exclusively as an accompaniment to dance and learned and taught by ear alone. This is a well known tradition among many Indian tribes all over the Americas. During the Revolution of the 1930s, President Lázaro Cárdenas made Mariachi music popular within mainstream society. During the 1950s, the music adapted to jazz and Cuban music styles, which helped set the modern ensemble. It is generally composed of several violins, a classical guitar, two trumpets.

As films and radio grew in popularity, it helped bring Mariachi music all over the country and the world. During the 1950s, Mariachi music was featured in over 200 films. With the help of US programs to bring in Mexican immigrants during the 1940s to the 1960s, the music moved North with the people. Mariachi music is a style of music that has been adapted and legitimized in mainstream music as Western musicians and domestic schools integrate the musical styles into their world.

By Jessica Shakarian

more of Jessica’s posts:

“Cesar Chavez“
“Indigenous Body Art“
“Jose Guadalupe Posada“
“Calvario“
“La Catrina“
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights“
“Aztec Death Rituals“
“Mosaic Skull”
“La Malinche”
“Tequila” 

Featured Art: The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego and Señor Xólot

The Love Embrace of the Universe by Frida Kahlo

The subject of this painting contains many elements derived from ancient Mexican mythology. Frida’s inability to bear children led her to adopt a maternal role towards Diego. In the center of the painting, like the Madonna, she holds her husband Diego in a love embrace that illustrates the combining relationship of women and men. Although the woman is the nurturing figure, the man has the third eye of wisdom in his forehead, so they are both dependent on each other.
Embracing the human couple is the Aztec Earth Mother, Cituacoatl, made from clay and rock. The outermost figure, the Universal Mother, embraces Cituacoatl. In the foreground, the Itzcuintli dog, Senor Xolotl, is more than simply one of the artist’s favorite pets: it represents Xolotl, a being in the form of a dog who guards the underworld. In this painting, Frida presents life, death, night, day, moon, sun, man and woman all in a recurring dichotomy which is deeply intertwined and held together by two powerful mythological beings.

In August of 1947, Frida drew a primitive sketch of this painting in her diary.

Frida sketch

Frida has been described as “…one of history’s grand divas…a tequila-slamming, dirty joke-telling smoker, bi-sexual that hobbled about her bohemian barrio in lavish indigenous dress and threw festive dinner parties for the likes of Leon Trotsky, poet Pablo Neruda, Nelson Rockefeller, and her on-again, off-again husband, muralist Diego Rivera”.

Today, more than half a century after her death, her paintings fetch more money than any other female artist…

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon was born in Coyoacan, Mexico, one of four daughters, on July 6, 1907. Although she gave her birth date as July 7, 1910 to coincide with the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Her original plan was to enter the medical profession. She contracted polio at the age of 6 which left her with one leg much thinner and smaller than the other. She camouflaged this later in life with long colorful skirts.
At the age of 18, she was seriously injured in a bus accident. She suffered fractures to her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis and injuries to her shoulder and feet. She endured more than 30 operations in her lifetime and it was during her convalescence that she began to paint.

Frida and Diego just married

At 22 she married the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera who was 20 years her senior. The marriage was stormy and passionate and survived infidelities, Frida’s bi-sexual affairs, her poor health and her inability to have children. Frida once said, “I suffered two grave accidents in my life… One in which a streetcar knocked me down and the other was Diego”. The streetcar accident left her crippled physically and Rivera crippled her emotionally.
Mexican culture and Amerindian cultural traditions are important in her work, which has been sometimes characterized as naïve art or folk art. Her work has also been described as “surrealist”, and in 1938 André Breton, principal initiator of the surrealist movement, described Kahlo’s art as a “ribbon around a bomb”.

In her lifetime, Frida created 200 paintings, drawings and sketches. 55 of which are self portraits. When she was asked why she painted so many self portraits she answered “Because I am so often alone… because I am the subject I know best”.
In 1953, when Frida Kahlo had her first solo exhibition in Mexico (the only one held in her native country during her lifetime), a

Frida at 46 in 1953

local critic wrote ”It is impossible to separate the life and work of this extraordinary person. Her paintings are her biography”.
Both Frida and Diego were very active in the Communist Party in Mexico. In early July 1954, Frida made her last public appearance, when she participated in a Communist street demonstration. Soon after, on July 13th, 1954, at the age of 47, Frida passed away.

Taken from fridakalohfans.com

*You may wonder, why of all Frida’s paintings did I choose “The Love Embrace of the Universe”? This is strictly a personal observation…. I chose this painting as unlike many of Frida’s paintings, it conjures up a vision of tranquility, peace and contentment so different than Frida’s turbulent life. – Susan Ayers

Frida next to her painting

Tesoros de Mexico: Tequila

Tequila

Tequila is synonymous with Mexican culture and history. It was the first distilled drink, as well as the first commercially produced drink in North America. Tequila is named after a city in the state of Jalisco, from which the agave plant (where the alcohol is distilled from) is located. Agave is a multi-use plant; including, distilled alcohol, for rope, clothes, and paper.

Tequila dates back to the 1500s, but it wasn’t until the 1600s that tequila took the form as we know it today. Jose Cuervo Sr was the first man to cultivate agave plants to create tequila. He was given the land by the King of Spain in 1758. Two hundred and fifty-three years later, his company is the largest manufacturer of tequila.

Tequila was the symbol of national pride during the Mexican Revolution of 1902. During the Prohibition in America, it gained popularity as it was smuggled across the border. During World War II, the Mexican government began to regulate the tequila market. In 1944, the government decreed that anything called “tequila” had to be made in Jalisco. Today it is recognized around the world, always bringing back the idea of Mexico.

By Jessica Shakarian

“Cesar Chavez“
“Indigenous Body Art“
“Jose Guadalupe Posada“
“Calvario“
“La Catrina“
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights“
“Aztec Death Rituals“
“Mosaic Skull”
“La Malinche”

Featured Art: La Bamba by Jesús Helguera (1910 – 1971)

La Bamba by Jesús Helguera (1910 – 1971)

La Bamba is the official dance of the state of Vera Cruz. As was his custom, Helguera travelled there to study the local folklore. His painting shows the music, romance and passion for life by the people of this region. Helguera showed the ideal Mexican life, not the down trodden and bent images of poor and spent field workers that the other artists of the day portrayed. Handsome and idealized the couple dances in beautiful and authentic regalia, portraying the Mexican life of the 1940s at it’s best. He worked with deliberate brush strokes, but the overall impression would be of a carefully crafted work with a painstaking attention to detail. The structures of his paintings create a sense of grand scale, and his heroic themes capture the imagination of the viewer. Hardly any home or school of the day lacked a calendar with images painted by Jesus Helguera.

Jesus Helguera was born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1910. His family fled from the Mexican Revolution to Spain where he went to art

Jesús Helguera

school. He married Julia Gonzalez Liano, a native of Madrid. She became the model  for many of his paintings. When the Spanish Civil War broke out he and Julia and their two children  moved back to Mexico. His paintings reflected an idealized Mexico and it was his romantic approach that gave his paintings the heroic impact that eventually made him famous.

La Layenda de los Volcanes

In 1940 he created what was probably one of his most famous paintings. “La Layenda de los Volcanes” which was inspired by the legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl.

Jesus Helguera died Dec 5 1971, he was very unassuming and never considered himself an artist or tried to exhibit his paintings. He is now considered a Master and his paintings are national icons.

Since the 1940s, large numbers of Mexican homes and businesses feature the calendar art of Jesus Helguera. Prints of his work were used in schools to teach children about Mexican history and to instill pride in the customs and traditions of the Mexican culture.

Tesoros de Mexico: La Malinche

La Malinche

Despite the male-centric politics (male conquerors and rulers), Mexico has a fair amount of female cultural icons. One woman who changed Mexican history is a woman called “La Malinche”, but is also known as “Doña Maria”.
Doña Maria was an Aztec woman born into nobility but ultimately shunned from her social class by her mother, who favored her younger step-brother over Maria. Sold into slavery, she given to the conqueror Hernan Cortez in 1519, where she learned Spanish and became an interpreter between the two rulers during meetings. She was also a mistress to Cortez and gave birth to the first Mestizo in history. Her affects on Mexican history is a wildly debated issue. There are some that argue that she helped bring Christianity to Mexico, and for influencing Cortez to be more compassionate than he could have been. However, she chose to side with the Spanish over her own people, thus being viewed as a traitor. Over the years, she has become a myth, with less of a focus on her role in the diplomacy that would eventually create a nation. Today, La Malinche has been taken in by Chicana feminist movement, due to her complex image as a betrayer of her people and her role in creating the Mestizo race. She is also seen as a strong female figure who managed to better her life.

By Jessica Shakarian

 More of Jessica’s Articles:
“Cesar Chavez“
“Indigenous Body Art“
“Jose Guadalupe Posada“
“Calvario“
“La Catrina“
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights“
“Aztec Death Rituals“
“Mosaic Skull”

Featured Art: Visions of Don Quixote

Visions of Don Quixote

Many years ago I was walking through one of those outdoor tent markets in Mexico. I was browsing at all of the trinkets and artworks when this image in the distance caught my eye. It was a painting of Don Quixote de la Mancha. His face to be more exact. Now I know there are lots of paintings of Don Quixote but something seemed different about this one. I approached it to investigate further when suddenly, I was looking at a different image! Quixote’s face was gone, now replaced by Sancho Panza and him ridding their horses Rocinante and Dappie with the windmills (or ferocious giants as Quixote would believe) in the background.

What’s really interesting about this painting is that the painter tells you the story. In the large image of Quixote, he looks like he is daydreaming. On the middle left you see Xarifa working in the fields and Quixote imagining her as Dulcinea (upper left corner). You also see the duke’s castle on the left side. Notice the images of dogs representing our hero’s madness. The upper right corner shows Miguel de Cervantes watching over his mastery.
I was mesmerized. I had to find out who this artist was. Well, his name is Octavio Ocampo.

Octavio Ocampo

Octavio Ocampo was born Feb 28 1943. He grew up in a family of designers, and studied art from early childhood. In high school, Ocampo painted murals for the Preparatory School and the City Hall of Celaya. Ruth Rivera, daughter of artist and muralist Diego Rivera and Maria Luisa Mendoza encouraged him to attend the School of Painting and Sculpture at the National Fine Art Institute.

Octavio Ocampo’s talents also extend to acting and dancing. At the Art Institute of San Francisco, he studied all these disciplines and pursued both a film and theater career. In 1976, he began to devote himself solely to painting and sculpture. He now works primarily in the metamorphic style – using a technique of superimposing and juxtaposing realistic and figurative details within the images that he creates.
“I am fascinated by the forces of Good and Evil and the Sun (male) and the Moon (female). I live in Tepoztlan, which is a mountainous region southwest of Mexico City, and is considered to be one of the most magical places on earth. Like the Bermuda triangle, there is a strange and unexplained, but extremely powerful, confluence of magnetic forces seemingly concentrated in the Tepozteco Mountain.” – Ocampo

Octavio Ocampo is one of Mexico’s most prolific artists. His paintings create an optical illusion that plays with your brain. One minute you’re looking at one image, the next, a completely different one. Two separate images with two separate meanings within one single painting. He calls this style “methamorphic”. That very style that drew me to his painting at that market many years ago.

Written by Jorge Sanchez

For more of Octavio Ocampo’s work, you can visit his Website.

Tesoros de Mexico: Villa Rolandi-Isla Mujeres

Villa Rolandi

What are those lights I asked the waiter at my favorite Cancun restaurant “Maria Bonita’s”. “That’s Isla Mujeres” he told me. A small Island about three miles off the coast of Mexico in the Caribbean Sea. “Why is this Isla called the ‘Island of Women’ ?” I asked. In Mayan times the island was

Isla Mujeres

called Ekab and served as a sanctuary for the goddess Ixchel. When the Spanish landed on the Island they found many female shaped idols representing the goddess and so thus named the island “Isla Mujeres”.

I was staying at what was the Camino Real which has since become Dreams and decided to investigate this Isla Mujeres place. There are many things to do on the Island and it can make a great day trip when you’re staying in

Dolphin Discovery

Cancun. I saw that swiming with dolphins was offered at Dolphin Discovery and I had always wanted to do that so I made an appointment for the following day. I also noticed a hotel called the The Villa Rolandi, a small luxury hotel with a five star rating. Really? I wanted to investigate. The Villa Rolandi has a restaurant called “The Casa Rolandi” so I phoned to see if I needed a reservation for lunch. They said I didn’t and asked me if I needed them to send me a

Casa Rolandi Restaurant

boat. I kid you not!! I declined because I wanted to be adventurous and take the ferry and then investigate the island a little before we had lunch and then our swim with the dolphins. Like most small islands, the method of transportation is either taxis, mopeds, bicycles or golf carts. We opted for a golf cart. Now our adventure on Isla Mujeres is another story for another  day, because it is the Villa Rolandi which is my “tesoro”.  As it turned out the Villa was right beside Dolphin Discovery nestled

Accommodations

between the Caribbean Sea and Laguna Makax lagoon. The hotel features 35 accommodations that are absolutely gorgeous and includes a complimentary continental breakfast.  I’m getting sidetracked though… Because it is just so off the beaten track and secluded, we had a hard time finding the hotel which is amazing because it’s a very small island. I thought this is a perfect “get away from it all” or a honeymoon location. Incredible service, apparently they even have a yacht to take you from Cancun. Does this sound amazing!!!! It really is. We ended up having our

Lunch at Casa Rolandi

lunch at the Casa Rolandi. The cuisine is Swiss-Northern Italian and delicious. The exclusive recipes are cooked in a firewood oven that seals in the juices and retain the original flavors. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our delicious lunch overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The next time we go to the Cancun area we’re staying at the Villa Rolandi on the Isla Mujeres.

Featured Art: Mosaic Skull

Mosaic Skull

This Mosaic Skull is dated between 1400 and 1521 from Western Oaxaca.
It is a real human skeleton, covered in turquoise. Though skulls were
covered in other stones and rare minerals, this skull is meant to
convey this ancestor’s wealth.

Despite it being about five hundred years old, it’s in very good
condition, with a missing tooth, a few chips in the forehead. The eyes
are the focal point of the piece, with their large discs with the
beady eyes in the center. It’s haunting, and eery, like it might start talking. It looks like it’s smiling in a creepy way. That same
eeriness is also what is interesting about this skull. It’s an art
piece and a piece of science.

It can be seen at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the Americas
Building. It’s part of their permanent collection.

By Jessica Shakarian

More of Jessica’s Articles:
“Cesar Chavez“
“Indigenous Body Art“
“Jose Guadalupe Posada“
“Calvario“
“La Catrina“
“La Virgen de Guadalupe Defendiendo Chicano Rights“
“Aztec Death Rituals“