Latin American Lifestyle and Art (LALA): San Martin Tilcajete (Oaxaca, Mexico)

San Martin Tilcajete is a small town (circa 1,500 inhabitants) about 25 kms outside the city of Oaxaca. The turn-off from the Ocotlán road, where the bus drops me off, is an inconspicuous corner seemingly in the middle of nowhere. A 20 minute walk through flat scrubby farmland takes me to the centre of town. Framed by jacaranda and drooping eucalyptus trees the dusty town square is devoid of life except for a couple of skinny dogs panting in the shade. Stucco single-story houses, a spanish church behind a high gated wall, municipal buildings squatting behind the curved arches of the zocolo arcade (painted jacaranda purple!). No cafes, no restaurants, no people at all. It is eerily quiet and still. I would think myself totally lost were it not for the giant jewel-coloured paper-mâché lizards crawling across the facade of one little house on the main street. Across the road a bright orange wooden giraffe stands in a doorway or another. Two doors down a fantastical creature,half rabbit half antelope, is peeping out from an internal courtyard. And just off the square, nestled like jewels in the dusty earth-toned stucco, a row of three houses painted in candy stripes of vibrant colour: green, orange, purple, yellow, turquoise. A work of art which could have come straight from a Tim Burton film set. Not a heat-induced desert hallucination. All signs that I am in the right place.

San Martin Tilcajete is a farming town, historically of the Zapotec people, but today is better known as the artesian enclave dedicated to the art of alebrije. Alebrije are woodcarvings of animals, real or imagined, painted with intricate designs drawn from mythology and symbology of the Zapotec people. They are the result of two artistic traditions, one ancient and one contemporary. The Zapotec, a pre-columbian civilization which flourished in the Oaxaca Valley since 500 BC, used carved wooden animals for personal totems. These totem animals were used in special ceremonies and also in day to day life to encourage good fortune in hunting, harvest and fertility. In the mid 1900’s, influenced by the surrealist art movement from Mexico City (in particular that of artist Peor Linares) and a surge in popularity of Mexican folk art, the contemporary alebrije evolved. Wonderful fantastical creatures made purely as a form of artistic and cultural expression.

The alebrije artists of San Martin all work from their homes, hence the slightly surreal exterior decorations, and it is often a family business (gender roles seem to be pretty strongly defined. In most cases the men carve and the women paint). Walking the dirt roads of the town is like a treasure hunt. I’m on the look out for a flash of bright colour which may indicate there is art work within. In most cases it is possible to simply walk in off the street into a cool dim room, calling out “hola”, where you are welcome to browse and even watch the artists at work. I was lucky to see one carver just starting a new carving. He has a 2 foot section of tree trunk and a machete. Nothing more. It’s incredible to watch the wood chips flying as he swings that machete with total certainty and fearlessness, following his mental vision. The work of a very accomplished carver will depict the animal caught in a posture or gesture that is particularly lifelike and reveals the spirit or nature of the animal, often with a sense of mischief. I saw one fantastic depiction of a typical Mexican street dog captured slinking away with such a sheepish expression. Exactly like my Sami when she has been caught lying on the couch - something she knows very well is forbidden.

I stop to look at all the tellers I pass, but am really on my way to the house of Jacobo and Maria Angeles - a husband and wife team who produce arguably the finest alebrijes of their time. It is my second time in San Martin so I know where I am going. My first visit I wandered around lost for quite a while before finally finding their distinctive purple house. I am really happy to find Jacabo and Maria home - I didn’t meet them on my last visit. They are warm, welcoming and inclined to chat. They express real appreciation that I would seek out their work for my gallery ( and are convincing in their sincerity despite the fact their work is shown in some of the very prestigious galleries in North America and Europe. That’s how nice they are). I mentioned that my love of albrijes started more than 10 years ago when I was living in Philadelphia. There was an alebirje gallery in New Hope, PA, which I loved to visit and from which I purchased two alebrije lizards. Since then I had always had a desire to visit Oaxaca. Angelo is pretty excited by this news. It turns out the gallery owner was a good friend of his and he supplied much of the alebrije art. Cool! Maybe I have some early pieces from the Atelier Angeles without even realising it! I spend a happy hour browsing their recent work and watching Maria paint her trademark intricate design onto a new carving. Its truly amazing to watch her work freehand with these tiny brushes that look like they have about 3 hairs in them. I carefully select a few pieces for LALA. Growing international recognition for their work has pushed prices up and I can’t afford more. But having to to select so carefully makes each piece, which takes over one year to make, more special to me.

While they are carefully boxing my purchases I re-visit a couple of the other workshops and carefully select the pieces from the other artists that I liked and who are making high-end, quality, labor intensive and artistically original pieces (as opposed to the low-end repetitive pieces which are produced for the tourist market). I am happy with my purchases. Seeing that I now have two boxes to take back with me Maria offers to have her nephew, Angel, drive me back to Oaxaca City. He keeps my thoroughly entertained with a story of how he once took a 32-member Oaxacan youth orchestra, all under the age of 12, to Utah for a concert. He offers to come with me to two additional shipping companies to get quotes for shipping to Honduras. I am really so warmed by the generosity and friendliness of people here. The new quotes are consistent with the ones I have already - in other words too bloody expensive. I am happy at least to verify the first quotes were for real and not an inflated “gringo” rate. For now, I opt to take my purchases back to the Casa del Sol and figure it out from there. I have two more days in Oaxaca. Something will work out. It always does.