Mexico File

FEBRUARY 2006
Puerto
Vallarta
Redux
by Robert Simmonds
Robert B. Simmonds, Ph.D., publishes The
Mexico File and is the brother of David
Simmonds, the editor and creator of MF. He
is a psychologist in San Diego. Bob wrote
articles on Cabo and Oaxaca in recent issues
of MF.
A recent survey shows that Puerto Vallarta
is the fifth most visited tourist destination
in the world – the world! It outdoes both
the Mexican cruises and Cabo San Lucas.
Way back in the sixties, Elizabeth Taylor
knew what she liked, and now thousands
upon thousands of people flock to the
very same beaches and jungle-enveloped
hillsides that she and Richard Burton and
John Huston (and let’s not forget Ava
Gardner and Deborah Kerr) adored forty
years ago.
I know we’ve covered Puerto Vallarta in
The Mexico File many times before, but
I just had to see this place that Dave, my
brother, has been obsessed with for so
many years. Dave has been going to PV
for decades – he estimated that he’s been
there something like 30 or 40 times. He
talks about the times he used to camp on
VOLUME XI, NUMBER 5
A Puerto
Vallarta
Sunset
the beach in a VW
van in the very
same spots that
now sport major
resort hotels, the
places that the
parasailing boats
take off from
now. But I think
that even Dave
is getting tired
of the busy-ness
of contemporary
Puerto Vallarta.
He now talks
more blissfully
about Sayulita,
half an hour up
the coast, thinking that it reflects the old
Vallarta that he knew way back when.
Hotels now line the Bay of Banduras,
all the way from the north point of the
bay, down to the airport, and then from
the airport down to just south of the Rio
Cuale, the river that runs through the
center of the old city of Puerto Vallarta
– miles and miles of resort hotels. And
many people, I would guess, from these
resort hotels never make it into the old
city. They just lay on the beach and drink
margaritas and shop from the beach
vendors and hope to make their return
flight on time.
I had an email from my old, dear friend,
Carmel (a nurse who now lives in Staten
Island), saying she wanted to meet up
in Mexico again. And coincidentally,
Dave’s old buddy from college, Lyneer
Turner, and his wife Penny, were
Izucar de
Matamoros,
Part II
by Lynne Doyle
Lynne Doyle is a contributing editor to the
Mexico File and a shameless Mexican folk art
hound. Part I of this article appeared in the
December 2005 / January 2006 issue of the
Mexico File.
Among my favorite artists are the many
members of the Castillo Balbuena
family, creators of some of Izucar’s most
interesting and complicated trees of life
candelabra and incense burners. Closer
in style to Aurelio Flores, this family,
headed by Maria Luisa Balbuena Palacios,
is famous for the imaginative shapes
and themes of their pieces. This group
does everything, from the huge multiarced trees that are almost impossible
to get home in one piece to the tiny
animalito candle holders popularly used
on children’s birthday cakes and every
The Balbuena Palacios group is
without doubt the most prolific in
Izucar Matamoros. Some of the most
popular of their products are these
little animalito candle holders, 1.5
inches high in every variety of animal,
including the little dinosaur on the
ends. They cost about $2
Continued on page 6
INSIDE
Continued on page 2
M á s o M e n o s
2
L a s J o y a s
4
B o o k R e v i e w
5
A b o u t M e x i c o
8
Puerto Vallarta Continued
I
have always thought that our
country’s foreign policy should be
modeled more after the old TV western
Bonanza and less like the British Empire
prior to being relegated to small-island
status, going broke and trying to rule
the world. On Bonanza, patriarch Ben
Cartwright and his three sons liked to
leave folks alone unless they started
messing with the Ponderosa, the ranch
where they lived. Occasionally they
had to wander off the ranch to attend to
something or to save the nearest town
from bad guys, but generally they liked
to mind their own business. “Live and
let live” epitomized the spirit of the
West, while people also took care of one
another when in need.
Today we live in a time where many
amongst us see it as our obligation, our
duty, to tell other cultures how to live
their lives. Without going into all of
the obvious examples of this that drive
our policies throughout the world, one
instance that recently took place in
Mexico serves to illustrate the absurdity
of this blatant arrogance.
The Maria Isabel Sheraton Hotel in
Mexico City is U.S. owned. A meeting
was scheduled there between a group
of oil company leaders from the U.S.,
including representatives of Exxon
Mobil Corporation, and a delegation
from Cuba to discuss a possible joint
venture. However, under pressure from
the feds, the Cubans were summarily
evicted from the hotel by Sheraton
based on our goofy law prohibiting any
business deals with Cuba. Mind you, the
meeting was taking place in a sovereign
country where doing business with Cuba
is lawful. We decided to enforce our
law beyond our border, not a popular
policy in the civilized world where
we are commonly viewed as an overmeddlesome country.
Casa Corazon
Carmel at Casa Corazon
spending a month in Puerto Vallarta just
down the beach from the B&B hotel that
Carmel and I had booked. So, it was PV
that we decided on, and, quite frankly,
I don’t think I could have made a better
choice. I loved PV (despite the many
hotels).
I loved the tropical air in the month
of December. I loved the cobble-stone
streets. The tropical flora was like
staying in a conservatory. The people,
both the Mexican natives and the
tourists, were as friendly as I’ve ever
seen. You could buy crafts from nearby
areas – jewelry, scarves, Huichol beaded
figures and yarn paintings. And the food,
in places, is clearly gourmet quality. I
loved hearing the surf all night. I loved
seeing a fiesta celebrating the Virgen de
Guadelupe where I got my much needed
taste of Mexican culture. This city is the
beach and a straight uphill climb into
jungle, one of the most scenic places
on the planet. I got my fill of shrimp. I
liked riding the bus down to Mismaloya
where I had a foot reflexology treatment.
It was even fun avoiding the time-share
vendors, who seemed to comprise about
There is a hotel for every taste in
Puerto Vallarta, ranging from major
resorts (like the Hotel Fiesta Americana
Puerto Vallarta and Quinta Real Puerto
Vallarta) to cheap hotels meant for
sleeping if the noise isn’t too bad, like
Dave’s old hangout, Posada de Roger
at Basilio Badillo 245. We lucked out
in finding Casa Corazon.
Casa Corazon
Casa Corazon (Amapas 326) is built
on a cliffside right on the Playa de Los
Muertos, the nicest beach in Puerto
Vallarta. The newer section is an eightstory building with rooms overlooking
the Bay of Banderas, so you get to hear
the breaking of the waves all night
long. Carmel and I had adjacent rooms
and we shared a long patio with tables,
chairs, and plants, overlooking the
ocean. The sunsets were magnificent
from our rooms. You walk down brick
steps and patios smothered in tropical
foliage to get to the beach down below
– and there, on a sunny day, you sit in
beach chairs under umbrellas ordering
margaritas and food while beach
vendors come by with surprisingly high
Paths leading from Casa Corazon
down to the beach
Penny and Lyneer Turner at Cuates
y Cuetes
Not surprisingly, Mexican officials, as well as its citizens, were incensed by this
bullying tactic. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Like it or not, we
need friends, especially those with whom we share a border. We need to respect and
appreciate the fact that everyone doesn’t want to be like us. Let’s start paying more
attention to the Ponderosa and allow others to do the same.
2
half of the population. I loved seeing
the manta rays jumping into the air in
schools some distance from the shore,
and of course we saw dolphins as well.
Puerto Vallarta is filled with riches for
the hungry traveler.
Continued on page 3
Puerto Vallarta Continued
Breakfast on the patio at Casa Corazon
quality wares (make sure that Pedro is
your waitperson). Oh, and I forgot to
mention the band on the beach that plays
some of the best music you can imagine.
(One of my high points from the trip was
when virtually everyone on the beach
was singing along to their version of “A
Horse With No Name.”) (It’s amazing
what margaritas do.)
Casa Corazon is a smallish B&B hotel,
small enough for the guests to meet and
chat during their free breakfasts that
feature a different dish every morning
(ranging from scrambled eggs to
chilaquiles, and always with fresh fruit
and good coffee). We met an airline
steward (who did his yoga everyday on
the patio), a couple on their honeymoon,
a female tattoo artist, and a variety
of other travelers on weeklong visits.
And the price is right. Their balcony
rooms go for $65 a night during the
low season, although we got ours for
$45 a night since they made a mistake
in quoting us a low price and we held
them to it. Interestingly, the people who
paid full price got a TV, microwave, and
refrigerator in their rooms, and we found
nothing of the sort in our rooms – the
price of penury. There is a drawback or
two to Casa Corazon, but we adapted
quickly. In the first place, even though
there is an elevator that goes from floors
La Playa de Los Muertos on a hot
December afternoon, right in front
of Casa Corazon
4 through 11 (the penthouse suite usually
reserved for the owner, George Tune),
you still have to climb those first four
floors from the street down below – and
it’s quite a hike up Amapas Street to the
upper entrance on the seventh floor. The
climbing in Puerto Vallarta got better by
the time we were ready to leave, but those
first few days were quite the challenge.
(When I saw my doctor after the trip, he
said I was “deconditioned.”) The other
drawback was the music in the adjacent
hotels that went on, loudly, until 10:30
PM. Every night we heard, as loudly as
if we were on the dance floor, the music
from the hotel to the left, which was good
for some balcony dancing. And two nights
a week, Wednesdays and Sundays, you get
to hear the music from the drag shows at
the Blue Chairs Hotel just to the right of
Casa Corazon. I wondered why “Cabaret”
still held people’s interest after all these
decades, and why all these beautiful
women were coming in and out of the
door to the disco on the top floor, until
I found out that these were major drag
shows. (One drag show that we missed,
but wanted to go see, held elsewhere in
town, was the one featuring Ida Slapter.)
Blessedly, the music always stopped at
10:30 PM, and then it was just the lull of
the surf and a beautiful night’s sleep. You
can book a room at Casa Corazon, which
I recommend, by calling the owner in Las
Cruces, New Mexico, at 505-523-4666 or
505-523-7694.
The Restaurants
One of the most pleasant experiences
of Puerto Vallarta is the food. I always
prefer street tacos and seafood cocktails in
Mexico (as well as, of course, the shrimp,
which is always fresh, firm, plump and
tasty as the sea), and there’s plenty of that
fare around in Puerto Vallarta, especially
at the beach palapas. But there were
three restaurants in Vallarta that sent me
swooning. The first is La Tia Catrina. It
was Lyneer and Penny who, on the first
night I met them, took me over to this
place, which was a real find for them.
It’s located at 202 Francisco I. Madero at
Pino Suarez (latiacatrina@gmail.com).
The decor is beautiful, and the tables
fill early for dinner. I liked the French
onion soup with chile rellenos. And I
usually like Mexican food when I’m in
Mexico, but I went out on a limb this
Restaurants and craft shops line
Isla Mujeres in the middle of the
Rio Cuale
time and tried two other restaurants
that specialized in other fare, and both
were among the best I’ve ever had.
One was La Piazzetta Ristorante
Italiano, which had an outstanding
offering of antipasto and spaghetti.
It outdoes anything in San Diego’s
Little Italy, or any other Italian section
of any major US city I know. (Or
maybe I was just starving that night.)
This restaurant is located at Olas
Altas and Rodolfo Gomez and you
can call for reservations at (322) 2220650 (website at www.lapiazzettapv.
com). And a restaurant that’s been
around for decades is Archie’s Wok at
Francisca Rodriguez 130; reservations
at (322) 222-0411. This restaurant was
founded by John Huston’s personal
chef, Archie, who is now deceased,
but it carries on through his widow,
Cindy Alpenia. This restaurant has
mastered intricate flavors with mostly
Asian cuisine – but you’ve got to try
their panang curry (which they call,
simply, curry). Other restaurants that
are in the list of Puerto Vallarta’s very
An Aztec costume in a parade
leading to the Fiesta of the Virgen
de Guadelupe
Continued on page 5
3
Angelica Vasquez Cruz
by Lynne Doyle
Lynne Doyle is a longtime Mexico File
subscriber and contributing editor from
Maine. The object of the Las Joyas de
Mexico feature is to highlight for MF readers
some of the lesser-known but most rewarding
of Mexico’s geographic, human and artistic
treasures. Lynne can be contacted at
and has lived since the mid-1990’s
with Texan John Kemner, as outgoing
and verbose as Angelica is quiet
and reserved. Her home is secluded
and peaceful, surrounded by the
many varieties of bougainvillea she
painstakingly grows against its walls.
The view from her terrace over the
valley is breathtaking. Off of the terrace
is her gallery, a plain turquoisey-green
room lined with the shelves that display
her many unique figures, both large and
small.
intricately braided or long and flowing.
Flowers used to adorn dresses and
hair are miniscule and usually consist
of several different tones of clay to
establish color and distinguish blossoms
from leaves. Her work has to be seen to
be believed and there is nothing like it
coming out of Mexico today.
LinfordD@aol.com.
High up in the mountains northwest of
Oaxaca, in the small village of Santa
Maria Atzompa, there is a large stucco
house tucked into the mountainside.
After navigating a rutted dirt road
above the town, you reach a gate almost
obscured by vines and flowers. Behind
the gate, there are several rescued dogs
lying in the sun, all of whom get up to
gently greet visitors to the home and
workshop of ceramist Angelica Vasquez
Cruz, the tiny little woman with the
enormous talent known worldwide
among ceramic collectors for her
intricate handcrafted clay figures.
Angelica doesn’t look old enough to
drive but she has four grown children
Angelica Vasquez Cruz on her
terrace overlooking two of the
many varieties of bougainvillea she
cultivates on the hillside behind her
home in Santa Maria Atzompa
4
One of Angelica’s simple market
ladies for which she is famous. Here
three varieties of clay are used to
achieve depth and color differences.
The figure is about 8 inches tall
As talented an artist as she is,
Angelica regularly does her own
packing for clients traveling with
their purchases, and she’s very, very
good at it. I’ve never had a piece
arrive home broken
Angelica is a genius with detail. Her
figures, generally of women, are precise
and intricate in the extreme. No two
are ever the same, and because of their
complexity, Angelica does not produce a
large volume of work. You will not find
her figures in markets or shops – most
are either special orders or purchased
directly from her. While some of the
figures are tinted with a wide range of
muted colors known as “agobes” (natural
substances mixed with clay and applied
much like paint to achieve “more life” in
the work), most of the ornamentation on
them is achieved by different varieties
of clay which turn color when fired.
Angelica also achieves some of her
patterns by running a pencil through the
clay to add variety, depth and texture.
The facial expressions on Angelica’s
mermaids, angels, virgins and market
ladies are both mischievous and serene,
and their hair styles are usually either
Angelica herself is perhaps five feet
tall and weighs about 90 pounds with
rocks in her pockets. She usually wears
slacks, men’s shirts too large for her and
flip flops as she plunks down with the
ease of the teenager she looks like onto
a cushion on the floor of her gallery to
discuss her work. She does not speak
English but appears to understand a great
This figure – 15 inches tall – is
an interpretation of the Virgin of
Guadelupe surrounded by cactus,
flowers, and various Aztec figures,
suggesting a composite of Mexican
cultural history. It reflects all of
the minute detail that is Angelica’s
specialty, as well as the “agobe”
colorations that help to differentiate
the various aspects of the piece.
Because of the complex nature of
this piece, it sells for upwards of
$300
Continued on page 7
Book
Review
Mexico Chic: Hotels
Haciendas Spas
by Foo Mei Zee and Barbara Kastelein
Bolding Books: $25; 232 pp.
Reviewed by Gale Randall
If the notion of traveling independently around
Mexico and staying at some of the country’s
more charming and unusual boutique hotels
and inns intrigues you, then Mexico Chic
just may be the kind of book you’re looking
for. Offering descriptions and photo displays
of some 44 different properties, the book is
organized around seven distinctive regions
of Mexico: the Mexican Caribbean, Mayan
region, central east and south highlands,
the Pacific coast, Mexico City, the central
western highlands, and the Sea of Cortez. Each
geographical section is accompanied by an
extensive introduction and photos highlighting
that region’s distinctive characteristics. If
you’re an old hand at traveling Mexico, many
of the properties will be familiar to you, like
Oaxaca’s venerable Camino Real, the Posada
la Basilica in Patzcuaro, or Playa del Carmen’s
Shangri-la Caribe. But many others are
newcomers, such as Mexico City’s Habita and
W hotels, several revived Yucatecan haciendas,
and the boutique hotels of the Riviera Maya
– Deseo, Maroma and Ceiba del Mar, for
example, resorts designed in part, I suspect, as
oases for refugees from Cancun.
I’m puzzled by some obvious omissions
from this beautiful compendium, such as
the gorgeous Las Mananitas of the peacocks
in Cuernavaca and the most intriguing of
the Yucatan haciendas, Katanchel. But the
omission of Katanchel may have something
to do with the destruction wrought on that
property by Hurricane Isidore in fall 2002. On
a tour of the haciendas in early 2003, I saw
firsthand what Isidore had done to Katanchel,
but the hacienda is now back in operation and
it would be a treat to visit. And, Katanchel has
its own Mayan ruin.
I don’t believe one needs the travel budget
of an oil sheik to plan a trip around some of
these properties. I think it’s fun to alternate
stays between more modest digs and then
maybe splurge for one night at a higherend property, or, if that’s not feasible,
at least plan a meal at such a place. If,
for instance, I were to plan a trip to the
Yucatan, I’d fly into Cancun, stay a few
nights at beachside Shangri-la Caribe
outside Playa del Carmen, and then move
on to tour the ruins and haciendas of
Yucatan State, stopping first at laid back
and reasonable San Antonio Chalante, the
horseback riding hacienda just outside the
yellow city of Izamal, and then move on
to Tixkokob, staying at either Hacienda
San Jose Cholul or Katanchel, and ending
my trip in Merida. Likewise, if I were to
visit Mexico City for a few days, I’m not
sure I’d bunk at either the Habita or W
hotels featured in Mexico Chic, but rather
my old favorite, the Calinda Geneve in
the Zona Rosa, perhaps planning a day
bus trip to Cuernavaca, where for sure
I’d lunch at Las Mananitas or the newer
Casa Tamayo Cuernavaca. I’ve never
been to Puebla, but I can hardly wait to
try out the idiosyncratic Meson Sacristia
de Capuchinas or Meson Sacristia de la
Compania, two antique-filled boutique
hotels owned by the antique-dealing
Espinosa family. It’s fun to dream.
Author Foo Mei Zee is the former editor
of the Singapore-based magazine The
Peak and a contributor to the Asian Wall
Street Journal. Barbara Kastelein, a
resident of Mexico City, has contributed
to Conde Nast Traveler and has a column
in the Miami Herald’s Mexican edition.
  
Puerto Vallarta Continued
best include The Agave Grill, Barcelona
Tapas, Boca Bento, Daiquiri Dick’s,
Trio, and Vitea.
La Fiesta of the Virgin of Guadelupe
Carmel and I met with Lyneer and Penny
nearly every night at a beachside bar,
Cuates y Cuetes, right on Los Muertos
Beach, just north of the pier. (They have
a two for one happy hour, and Lyneer and
Penny, we noticed, had made friends with
quite a few of patrons and staff by the
week Carmel and I showed up.)
One night they suggested that we have
dinner at the Fiesta of the Virgin of
Guadelupe that was taking place nightly
at the Church of the Virgen de Guadelupe
a few blocks north of the Rio Cuale.
Parades converge from all over
Puerto Vallarta toward the center
of the Fiesta with people singing
and holding candles
Amazingly, little parades originated
from all over the city of Puerto Vallarta
with participants in costume or just in
groups dressed in white and holding
candles as they marched toward the
church. We got to a street booth just
about straight in front of the church
and sat down for a bowl of pozole. Not
only did this bowl of soup make me
think I had died and gone to heaven,
but as we were eating it, magnificent
voices, choirs, came pealing out of
the church singing religious music
– and I felt fully on the brink of
ascending. That very moment was the
high point of my trip to PV – good
broth, cascading music, in a sea of
Mexican folk culture. Afterward we
went on an art walk to galleries that
were open that night – and Lyneer
found a mesmerizing Huichol yarn
painting by the master of this art form,
Benito Sanchez, a shaman who creates
paintings based on the themes of
peyote ceremonies. I ended up, once
I got back to San Diego, buying one
of these myself – and Lyneer bought
three.
Et Cetera
Every Puerto Vallarta travel article
Church of the Virgin of Guadelupe
during the Fiesta
Continued on page 8
5
Izucar Continued
size and style in between. They are
also firmly in the 21st century, with
their internet café next door (which
you can use for free if you buy from
them) and their web catalog from which
purchasers can order pieces to be custom
made. Where all this technological
advancement falls apart is in the time
table – it can take months to receive
a catalogue-ordered piece, and while
whatever it is will be gorgeous, it often
will have little beyond shape in common
with what is pictured in the catalog.
Once, when I questioned the difference
between the piece I received from
the piece I ordered, Maria laughingly
explained that pieces are often painted
depending on her mood and whatever
jar has the most paint in it, though I’m
not confident enough of my Spanish
to be absolutely sure whether this was
said seriously or not. Also a frustrating
contribution of their ordering system
is that often, there will be little in the
studio that is actually for sale, as most
of it will be previously ordered or
purchased.
Also worthy of note is the Balbuena
Alonso family, notably Joaquin, whose
use of bold colors is in a class by itself.
Joaquin does not sign only his own name
to his work as he considers each piece a
This portrait of Joaquin Balbuena
Olonso outside his studio with
one of his more striking pieces
– a candle holder steeped in the
Izucar tradition of high detail and
intricate patterns. This piece was
purchased by Mexico File subscriber
Steve Cziraki and his wife Linda and
stands about 20 inches tall
6
This menorah by Maria Balbuena
Palacios is my all-time favorite
piece of Izucar art. It is 15 inches
tall, 18 inches wide, and has been
broken so many times that I don’t
dare move it, which accounts for
the busy background in the photo.
I ordered this piece in 1990 and it
arrived broken in five places, but
this type of clay is easily repaired.
After I had vanquished all evidence
of breakage, and my husband was
applying varnish, he broke it again
in two different places. However,
as you can see, there is no sign of
damage anywhere on it today
joint family effort, which it is as his wife
paints and his children help to conduct
business. A tall, handsome, quiet man,
Joaquin’s large and small pieces are
representative of the Izucar style, both
in composition and in painting, but are
also reasonably priced and carefully
done – and there are always lots of
items for sale. All of us were delighted
that there were so many pieces to
choose from on this trip and we all
bought pieces here.
A little further down the street is
Augustin Castillo (another brother of
Alfonso, Heriberto and Isabel) and his
wife Teresa. While they often have
no pieces for over-the-counter sales,
Teresa was most helpful to us this
time in demonstrating part of the firing
technique used in the manufacture of
ceramics in Izucar. She escorted us
throughout all the work spaces and then
showed us how she cools the kiln after
a firing. As are most of the artists in the
town, this couple is friendly, helpful and
unfailingly polite to unexpected visitors,
even when they don’t have anything to
sell.
One last artist to mention is Tomas
Hernandez Baez who, while very
talented, is definitely not one of my
favorite people. Located a little further
from the others but within Barrio de
Santa Catarina, he is very successful and
does some amazing work, but I have not
found him to be a very nice person. To
begin with, his pieces are such direct
copies of the work of his sister Marta’s
husband, Alfonso Castillo, that it is
positively eerie. To confess my ultimate
hypocrisy, this was okay with me years
ago when his prices were far below those
of Alfonso, but now Tomas’ prices are
equal and in some cases above Alfonso’s,
so my feeling is that if you are going to
pay that much, you might as well get
the original. Also, during our visit when
I was researching this article, Tomas
was the only artist we encountered who
objected to my photographing some of
his pieces, and was quite vocal in his
objections (perhaps afraid I was going
to copy them?) Later, he attempted to
amend his behavior by buying Cokes
for our group, giving the ladies little
sculptured bugs, and eventually giving
us a lift back to town in his truck, but
for me, his efforts were too little, too
late. I can honestly say he is the only
artist I have ever visited anywhere in
Mexico who was not completely cordial,
Continued on page 8
Cancun 
Puerto Vallarta 
Mexico City


Izucar de Matamoros
 Oaxaca
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Angelica Continued
Izucar Continued
This incense
burner/
candelabra
has a very
unusual
shape done
largely
by Maria
Balbuena
Palacios – at
least I have
not seen it
anywhere
else. Also
one of her
personal
signatures found on some of her
larger pieces is the criss-cross
background, here done in red and
blue. It stands about 18 inches tall
and cost $35 in 2000
patient with questions and tolerant in
the extreme with his guests’ varying
degrees of skill with Spanish. If they
were all like Tomas, it is my view that
the American enthusiasm with Mexican
folk art would die on the vine.
Perhaps pertinent here is that since
returning from this trip, I have learned
that – contrary to most of the artists’
communities I have visited in Mexico
– among these few artists, there is a great
deal of competition and mistrust, even
between family members. For example,
I couldn’t understand how Alfonso
Castillo would permit such blatant
plagiarism of his work by his brother-inlaw, but with Mexican law being what
it is, there is little he can do to prevent
the highjacking of his designs by Tomas
Baez. It is for this reason that in Izucar,
there is no artists’ cooperative or market
and therefore, there is poorer distribution
of the work of the artists than is usually
found throughout Mexico. I couldn’t
work out any particular reason for
MF
THE MEXICO FILE
The Newsletter for Mexicophiles
Continued on page 8
deal and uses energetic body language to
get her point across. She has long shiny
black hair and delicate, serious features,
but her smile, although it rarely appears,
lights the room when it does. She is
most comfortable explaining the thought
processes and techniques behind her
work. She considers herself a spiritualist
who is constantly reflecting on both the
culture and history of her country as well
as the roles and conditions of women
in Mexico’s highly traditional society.
Her success is relatively recent, dating
only from the early 90’s, although she
began working clay when she was a
young child following in the footsteps
of her parents. Initially, her parents
made utilitarian pottery for the practical
use of fellow villagers but in middle
age, emulating their daughters, began
to make decorative pieces. Angelica’s
early marriage at 18 and responsibility
for her children delayed the time when
she was able to develop and take credit
for her own creative work. However,
her considerable renown in the world
of Mexican ceramic folk art is assured
now. She is welcoming and pleasant to
unannounced visitors and an afternoon
spent in her gallery and on her terrace is
an unparalleled experience. She can be
found on Avenida Independencia beyond
the center of Atzompa, and any cab
driver in the city of Oaxaca can get you
there, although not all will be willing to
traverse the rocky road to her door. It
is best to inquire first, or hire Sebastian
Chino Pena, who can get his Suburban
right to the gate as well as translate and
negotiate prices for you.
A visit to Angelica is a uniquely Oaxacan
experience – an opportunity to meet
a woman of her time as well as of her
THE MEXICO FILE
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culture who represents a unique and
singular aspect of the progress Mexican
women are making and the stature they
are achieving in the traditionally sexist
world of Mexican folk art.
  
This 10 inch wide, 8 inch tall,
mermaid is one of Angelica’s
trademark themes, where she again
uses her agobe application to more
effectively reveal the different
components
of the
piece. Also
apparent
here is the
flowing hair
found on
so many
Vasquez
figures
A Note from Lynne Doyle
Since the publication of my Las Joyas
column entitled “The Amazing Art of
Popotila,” in November 2004, I have
found a descendant of the famed Olay
family who is today producing some
very impressive examples of this rare
art form, although his work is different
from his ancestors – in execution, if
not in theme. He is Guillermo Olay,
son of Gabriel Olay, grandson of Petra,
and great grandson of Gabriel #2. He is
about 45 years old and lives and works
in the Michoacan village of Tlapujahua.
Guillermo uses many of the themes
created by his famous ancestors, such as
folkloric dances, portraits of traditional
Mexican people, etc., but his style is
singular, both from his forebears and
from other contemporary artists. Rather
than use long pieces of straw to create
his images, he uses very short pieces of
graded coloration to establish depth and
texture. His work is extraordinary, but in
keeping with his celebrated heritage, the
cost of his creations is substantial.
This cross,
measuring
32 by 20
inches, is
a typical
example of
the religious
topics
depicted
by the Olay
family,
although its
bold colors
and notable size reflect Guillermo’s
contemporary approach to his art.
7
Izucar Continued
Guns for Computers
In a unique attempt at slowing the crime
rate, Mexico City has begun offering a
computer to anyone who brings in a gun
to exchange. The program is similar to
a previous attempt in which groceries
were offered for guns with mixed results.
The guns-for-computer program is being
offered only in the most crime-ridden
districts.
Undocumented Migrants in Mexico
Mexico arrested more than 240,000
undocumented migrants in 2005, nearly
75% more than just three years ago. Of
the arrested, 89% were from Central
America. The remaining were from Brazil,
Venezuela, and other countries as far away
as China. Mexico has set up seven new
detention centers throughout the country to
house the detainees.
Tourism continues to Grow
From January to November 2005, Mexico
increased the number of international
visitors to 19.68 million, an 8 percent
increase over the same period the previous
year. Tourism generated nearly US$11
million in revenue for the same time period,
an increase of nearly 12 percent. The
tourism sector employed nearly 2 million
workers in November 2005. According to
2006 Travel Trends, Mexico tops the list of
top 10 international destinations with five
vacation options. Number two was Riviera
Maya, number three was Cancun, while
Puerto Vallarta came in at number five.
Mexico cruises were in the number nine
spot with Cabo San Lucas ranked 10th.
Obrador Still in Lead
Ex-Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel
Lopez Obrador of the PRD still leads in
polling to become the next president of
Mexico, although the PAN candidate,
Felipe Calderon Hinojosa is running a
strong second with the PRI’s Roberto
Madrazo coming in a distant third.
Obrador, the populist favorite in Mexico
City, has maintained the lead for several
months despite attempts to discredit him by
the opposition.
8
this anomaly except perhaps the fact
that the entire town isn’t employed in
pottery-making, and town leaders have
no involvement in how business is
conducted, resulting in no community
cooperation. It seems sad to me that
this should be the case, as it severely
inhibits both production and distribution
of wares, thereby making it much harder
for collectors to find the work. One
might think that the result would be
much higher prices for the work that
does manage to get produced, but with
the exception of Alfonso Castillo, most
of the artists are not charging what they
probably could, considering the relative
rarity of their pieces.
Before we headed back to Puebla, we
stopped at the second-story Restaurante
Atoyac Plaza, located on the side of the
zocalo directly opposite the cathedral.
While pleasant enough with its wide
windows overlooking the street, I had
the worst arrachero I’ve ever been served
in Mexico. On the upside, however, the
beer was cold, the rest rooms clean and
no one got sick. After a leisurely lunch
during which I attempted to find some
picturesque view to photograph, our hot
and exhausted little group walked to the
bus station for the ride back to Puebla,
during which we saw the same part of the
same movie offered to us on the way in.
(We still don’t know how it ended.)
So there you have a feeling for the
essence of the art of Izucar de Matamoros
in a very small nutshell. I have tried to
keep the verbal aspects of this article to a
minimum, as in my view the photographs
tell the story much more effectively than
words ever could. Very occasionally,
some smaller examples of this art form
can be found in the market El Parian in
Puebla, and sometimes in the markets
of Mexico City and the most popular
tourist areas, as well as on the internet,
but the best and most impressive pieces
can be acquired only from the artists of
Izucar themselves or from the higher
end dealers and purveyors of Mexican
folk art. Since I discovered and began
collecting this particular style of design
in the early 90’s, its popularity has picked
up considerably along with its prices,
while availability seems to ebb and flow
in no particular pattern. However, as
most of the people who have been lucky
enough to see and handle this incredible
art form can testify, it’s worth the trouble
to seek it out and you don’t have to sell
your first born or re-mortgage your house
to own some of it.
  
A favorite theme
for Maria Balbuena
Palacios is
the legend of
the Virgen de
Guadalupe and
Juan Diego, and
here she had
expressed it in yet
another unusual
candelabra shape,
complete with her
criss-cross lines in blue on the base
and candle holders and in cranberry
on the edges of the tree
Puerto Vallarta Continued
The Mercado Municipal is the site of
hundreds of craft booths
has to give at least some space to
Casa Kimberly, the former home of
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
in Gringo Gulch. But, I’m sorry. There
was no way I was going to climb the
hill up to this museum. What was very
pleasant, however, was a walk from
the Malecon down Isla Mujeres to the
bridge at the other end. The Isla used
to be jungle, and now it’s filled with
restaurants and craft shops. I even saw
a $10,000 sculpture for sale there. The
crafts are excellent, but perhaps a bit
higher priced than you can find at the
Mercado Municipal, which has booths
selling virtually everything (but take a
look at the silver jewelry...and there’s
good food on the top floor).
Puerto Vallarta, yes, may be overgrown
now – too much of a tourist destination
maybe. But you can find what you need
to find there. And for me, that meant
a happy, warm breath of tropical air
among friends.
  