First, the last day of this year’s (2018) Feria del Barro Rojo in San Marcos Tlapazola is tomorrow, Monday, July 16, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Grammy Award-winner Lila Downs is feria Madrina, charms us all, gives her all
If you go, wear your distinctive Tlapazola apron, like I did. It’s gingham trimmed in folded ribbon that ends up looking like frosting on a wedding cake. Too much fun. And, that’s exactly what it evokes — the hilarity of a gringa (otherwise known as Huera — White Girl) wearing indigenous dress. I get called Huera a lot in these parts.
Oh, those aprons! All handmade icing on the cake
If you don’t have an apron, you can buy one at the fair.
Now, we know I will never pass as a local and even if I tried, I’d never get away with it. But, that’s not the point. The point is to honor and appreciate the local culture and one way I’ve found to do that best is to make a point of dressing like a local. Everyone in the village finds this more than amusing. They like it. They smile, giggle, laugh and wave.
Front and center, beautiful red clay pottery
They invite me to sit with them and have a tejate (not a Tecate, which is a Mexican beer). They offer an embrace and accept mine.
Lila Downs speaks with everyone, congratulates them, shakes hands
Some of the ladies I know from years of meandering and buy from them at the Tlacolula Sunday market and they recognize me.
Beribboned young women comprise the welcome delegation
I have time. I sit a while. Visiting with people and taking your time is another way to show respect. It was late afternoon and my second visit of the day after taking two friends to Mitla. (I decided to return for a more leisurely visit and to pay for a blouse I put on hold.)
Meet Paul Cohen, Lila’s husband, and their son, oh, and me
We broke open a bottle of wild agave tepeztate mezcal and shared a sip or two with fair organizer Gonzalo Artuza from the Oaxaca Government Office of Social and Economic Support in Oaxaca, that underwrote the event.
Red clay with painted design
Sometimes I like to travel solita just to experience the serendipity of what can happen by just being somewhere with no other plan than to just BE.
My apron, bought last year, gives my friends a giggle
Many of the women here are the pottery makers whose work is distributed by and sold under the name of others more famous. Few of them get personal recognition. The fair is a great way to collect this beautiful ware and to offer much-needed economic support in this Zapotec village of about 3,500 people, while directly supporting the women makers.
Sometimes the only roadblock is a bull and a bunch of cows
How to get there: Drive through the main street of Tlacolula and go southwest, toward the coastal mountains. Follow the main road out of town. There are no road signs. In the distance you will see a village straight ahead — that’s San Bartolome Quialana. Don’t go there. Tlapazola is the village to the far right, so as you get closer to Quialana, there is a road (unmarked) that will take you to the right and directly to Tlapazola. This road has curves, straightaways, potholes and some smooth pavement. If you use GPS, it’s pretty accurate. Just look for the church with the rounded red dome off to the right in the distance!
Many farmers are giving over their corn fields to the planting of espadin agave for mezcal production. It is now a high-paying cash crop. The road goes through these fields and it’s gorgeous.
Who can stop taking photos of beautiful, talented Lila Downs? Not me.
And, our last laugh! They are acculturated to be serious!
I want to recommend Maria Aragon Sanchez and Gloria Cruz Sanchez for their excellent red clay dinnerware. Privada del Porvenir #1, San Marcos Tlapazola, Cel. 951 281 3329 and email: lucinam@live.com.mx
Global Day of Clay, Video and National Ceramics School, San Marcos Tlapazola
My father was a potter so I have a special affinity for clay. My kitchen in Teotitlan del Valle holds an assortment of San Marcos Tlapazola barro rojo from for cooking. Shelves are stacked with elegant, simple red clay dishes and bowls from which to dine. I love this clay and the women who make it. The village is up the road from where I live.
For centuries, since pre-Hispanic times, San Marcos women have made clay cooking and eating vessels, forming the shapes by hand after digging (a man’s job) and mixing the clay. They constructed outdoor wood fires to “cook” the low-fire ware, all the while breathing in the fumes.
Recently the cooperative built a smokeless kiln designed by Japanese engineer Yusuke Suzuki. Maestra Macrina Mateo Martinez and 16 families in the cooperative, Mujeres de Barro Rojo, can now produce higher temperature ceramics, more pieces at once, and have better quality respiratory health. This was possible through help from Fundacion Kasuga, Tajin, Fundacion Alfredo Harp Helu, and Andares del Arte Popular FAHHO.
Red clay pottery, San Marcos Tlapazola
They started the non-profit Escuela Nacional de Ceramica (National Ceramics School), to teach others how to build and use the same type of kiln, and celebrate Global Day of Clay with the release of this video.
Mujeres del Barro Rojo, San Marcos Tlapazola
In addition to the women, the video features my godson Eric Chavez Santiago, general manager of Andares del Arte Popular gallery where the ceramics are sold.
While the video is in Spanish, the visuals tell the story. Here is a brief English explanation that goes with the Facebook video narrative:
Today, we join to the celebration of the Global Day of Clay #GlobalDayOfClay we’d like to recognize the work, the passion, ability and interest of all the artisans in our country that make clay a way of life; that every day make an effort to preserve their traditions, maintain the quality of their craft and pass their knowledge, for the new generations to continue this path.
México, concerning clay, is rich in raw materials as techniques and designs that date prehispanic ages.
Today we release this video, a work done by the great editor Martha Úc and part of her talented video recording team conformed by Mercy Portillo and Claudia Pasos. This video is the result of the training that took place last July in San Marcos Tlapazola, Oaxaca with the group “red clay women” and artisans of other pottery entities of the state, to build a “smokeless wood kiln”. This video shows the riches of the clay traditions in the country as the strength of our women.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Travel & Tourism
Tagged barro rojo, Global Day of Clay, Mexico, National Ceramics School, Oaxaca, red clay pottery, San Marcos Tlapazola