Tag Archives: copalli

Huatulco

Entre Mar y Vida (Between Sea and Life)

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By José Palacios y Román—

In Bahías de Huatulco—where the changing light, the sea, and the surrounding mountains shape daily life—art often grows from the landscape itself. A group of local women artists has come together to explore that connection through color, memory, and shared experience.

On April 2, 2026, Copalli Art Gallery will present the exhibition Entre Mar y Vida (Between Sea and Life) by the Huatulco women’s collective La Magia del Color (The Magic of Color), a group of creators who live and work in this region of Oaxaca.

The mission of Copalli Art Gallery is to promote visual art and to open its doors to emerging local artists, making it a natural home for this exhibition.

La Magia del Color was formed out of a desire to create spaces for local art and artistic collaboration. This group exhibition seeks to strengthen the presence of women in the local artistic landscape while creating opportunities for connection between artists and the community. The collective is composed of: Ale Salazar, Alma Drew, Aranza León, Diana Laura Vargas Chávez, Grisel Hernández, Janette Santiago, Judith Martínez Caballero, Maru Ibarra, Aline Sofía Zúñiga Cárdenas, Marilú Gómez Bernal, Mariela Esmenjaud, and Mirna Liliana Muñiz Campos.

Each artist brings sensitivity, talent, and new perspectives to the cultural life of Huatulco. They offer a unique perspective: some were born in Huatulco, while others arrived drawn by the beauty and energy of the region. All share a deep bond with the natural and cultural surroundings that shape their lives.

The works of these artists explore a variety of techniques and visual languages, from painting and mixed media to contemporary works inspired by the sea, tropical vegetation, Mexican traditions, and the daily life of the region. This diversity reflects the spirit of the group’s name, La Magia del Color—a celebration of artistic freedom and the expressive power of color.

Guided by the belief that art connects people, stories, and emotions, this exhibition invites an encounter between artists and the community. Its goal is to build new audiences and contribute to the cultural life of the region.

In a place where the sea and land constantly shape the rhythms of life, Entre Mar y Vida captures that relationship. Through color, texture, and personal perspective, these artists invite viewers to see Huatulco—and the creative energy of its community—through their eyes.

Event Details
Opening: Thursday, April 2, 2026 – 6:00 PM
Copalli Art Gallery
On view through: April 30, 2026
Hours: Open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Admission: Free and open to the public. All are welcome.

Huatulco

Yuyé Hernández, a Resilient Afro-Mexican Artist Standing Tall Even When Life Knocks You Down

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By José Palacios y Román—

Adversity can test a person’s life and shape their path toward transcendence. Some individuals become true champions through that struggle. The state of Oaxaca ranks third in extreme poverty in Mexico. One of its regions is the Costa Chica, home to some two hundred thousand African descendants whose historical presence dates back to the 16th century and beyond.

Yuyé Hernández (Santa Obdulia Hernández Nicolás) is an Afro-Mexican woman born in 1980 in El Tamal, in the municipality of Santiago Pinotepa Nacional. At the time, it was a marginalized and largely forgotten community.

Despite humble beginnings, Yuyé developed a strong character and a deep commitment to her community. Today she is recognized in many roles: as an artist, a defender of her cultural roots, an advocate against abuses of power, a public speaker and lecturer, a national voice on gender equality, and more recently, a councilwoman responsible for culture and finance.

In the mid-1980s, a Catholic priest from Trinidad and Tobago, Father Glyn Jemmot, began promoting visibility and recognition for the Afro-Oaxacan community. Years later, in 1992, the Cimarrón Cultural Center was established.

It was there that Yuyé began her artistic journey, learning to draw and paint using her feet. Yuyé was born without arms. Through her involvement with the center and her relationship with Father Jemmot, she developed a strong sense of leadership and pride in her community and her Afro-Mexican identity.

Beyond her social and political work, Yuyé is a graduate in visual arts from the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca. Her principal mentor was the renowned Japanese master Shinzaburo Takeda, one of the most influential figures in Oaxacan contemporary art.

Following her creative impulses, Yuyé has participated in more than fifty exhibitions, where she has earned admiration not only for the creativity and quality of her work but also for the determination behind it. Without upper limbs, she paints with her feet, transforming what many might see as a limitation into a powerful artistic tool.

Her artistic production is rich in color, expressive brushstrokes, and recurring themes that explore the relationship between women and nature. Looking back at her work over the past decade, one can see increasing maturity, confidence, and interpretive strength in the subjects she chooses to portray.

Her paintings convey harmony, candor, and touches of naïveté, creating a romantic connection with the viewer.

Finally, it is impossible not to recall the example of one of Oaxaca’s most enduring figures: Benito Juárez. A Zapotec indigenous man born in poverty, orphaned at a young age, and raised without speaking Spanish, Juárez rose to become President of Mexico and successfully resisted the most powerful armies of his time.
His story reminds us that resilience is a form of strength.
Yuyé Hernández embodies that same resilience—standing tall even when life knocks you down.

Copalli Art Gallery, committed to promoting new talent from the Oaxacan coast, proudly welcomes Yuyé Hernández as part of its collection of emerging artists.

The gallery is located in Tangolunda and is open daily from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. All are welcome.

Huatulco

Osta, Artist of the World (Borders are Lines on a Map)

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By José Palacios y Román

Andrew Osta is an artist of the world. Speaking Slavic languages like Ukrainian and Russian, and having to learn English as a third language to pursue a university degree in Canada, Andrew went on to teach English in South Korea. Here he learned to speak basic Korean and write its characters. As he began painting, destiny brought both challenges and opportunities such as delving into shamanism in Peru and later settling in Mexico to master Latin American Spanish. When Osta returned from Peru after experiencing medicine journeys with ayahuasca, he continued painting and was invited by the master Pablo Amaringo for an exhibition. It was this experience that marked a turning point and a milestone in his career.

The following year, he decided to settle in the picturesque and attractive town of San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato. He was struck by the neo-Gothic church of San Miguel Arcángel, which Osta has painted countless times. This parish is the city’s main symbol and a quintessential example of pink quarry stone and twin towers in Mexico. San Miguel de Allende welcomed Osta; he makes friends easily despite being introverted, and the art market has supported him in being a full-time artist. Osta frequently exhibits his work in San Miguel de Allende, where galleries and exhibition centers showcase his art. His presence is appreciated, recognized, and met with great affection.

Osta enjoys traveling to Oaxaca City, and from there to the San José del Pacífico area, where he has his spiritual brothers and sisters. He has spent many days in Huatulco recreating the beaches of this destination for over a decade.

In the Tangolunda hotel zone, at the Copalli Art Gallery, Andrew Osta held his first solo exhibition on January 12, 2024, featuring some twenty works in both large and small formats, which were enjoyed by the public. Several pieces have been purchased by Huatulco residents and now hang on their walls. Since then, Osta has been an exclusive artist with Copalli, and the gallery has exhibited his paintings for sale in boutique hotels and various exhibitions in the region.

Osta lives in a beautiful home at the foot of Cerro de San Felipe, very close to the city of Oaxaca. He frequently visits Huatulco because he loves the sun, the sea, and the surrounding nature, which inspire him to continue painting. It continues to be a true pleasure to spend time with his family: his ever-smiling wife, Ninfa, and their two children, Nicolas (Niko) and Elenita, who inherited his creativity and sweet nature.

Andrew Osta’s work is on permanent display at Copalli Art Gallery, open daily from 10 am to 7 pm. Of note, his work is also featured in San Miguel de Allende, where, through synergy, we are building bridges of understanding and creation thanks to the successful initiatives of Jane Bauer and the expansion of The Eye magazine.

Huatulco

Pulse of Life in Polychromy: Abdías García

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By José Palacios y Román—

In every corner of Oaxaca State, we find characters who, in their fullness, weave their stories onto canvases imbued with sweet colors and ancestral references. The earthly force of ancestral roots, and connections with influences from other cultures, African, Eastern, and European, that impact our culture give us a unique cosmogonic vision that is manifested in art.

Creators express this wealth of emotions and feelings through the art of painting to remember our primordial origin: that of the tlacuilos who translated philosophy, thoughts, and history into aesthetic language in pre-Hispanic codices.

Painter Abdías García Gabriel was born on a ranch called El Paraíso, near Santa María Huatulco. The exuberant tropical aroma overcomes the daily limitations of coexistence and austerity, a lesson for life. Since childhood, he has drawn on paper and also with his imagination. This is where his dedication to painting begins, with effort, dedication, and determination.

First a path, then a trail, and finally the path to academic training at a university in the fine arts. Abdías studied drawing, various techniques, and painting. Discipline and determination have earned him recognition as an artist.

His other source of inspiration has been teaching: teaching in order to learn. He has been teaching classes since 2005 to children, youth, and adults. This activity relieves his students, who release frustrations by expressing their emotions.

Abdías is consistent with his journey in pictorial art, having found his own language and style, one that goes beyond joy, pleasure, and aesthetic enjoyment: these are creations that have filtered through his veins, sensitivity, and good taste.In front of his canvases, he provokes, recreates, nourishes, and encourages the spaces where his work is found.

I invite you to collect works by this artist who inspires taste and enjoyment with art as a creation and expression of the tropics in the Mexican Pacific the Oaxaca coast.

The opening of the exhibition will be on January 23, 2026 at 06.00 pm. Abdias will be presenting his most recent artwork “Nocturnal Dreams”, with music and wine. Entrance is free.

Huatulco

Enrique Flores Workshop and Artists of Oaxaca

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By José Palacios y Román—

In the mid-twentieth century, Mexican muralism experienced a turning point. Yet by then, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo had already secured a central place in modern art. Among them, Rufino Tamayo, a native of Oaxaca, stood out not only for his artistic genius but also for his generosity.

In Oaxaca City, Tamayo’s deep commitment to culture lives on in the Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art of Mexico, a carefully curated collection he donated in January 1974. That same year, through the initiative of Roberto Donis, the Rufino Tamayo Workshop of Visual Arts was founded. Tamayo contributed resources to create a space dedicated to the artistic training of young people from rural communities. From its first generation, the workshop became an important reference point for artistic education in Mexico and Latin America. Among those early students was Enrique Flores.

In 1981, Rufino Tamayo and his wife, Olga Tamayo, made another extraordinary gift to the nation: the Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City. Their collection includes works by many of the great masters of twentieth-century art — Picasso, Miró, Dalí, Bacon, Dubuffet, Calder, Warhol, Vasarely, Magritte, and others. Today, the museum is recognized as one of the finest in the world.

This legacy is closely tied to the ongoing vitality of Oaxacan art. Enrique Flores, painter and educator, has built an extensive career that he combines with the work of the Enrique Flores Cultural Center and Workshop, which he has sustained for over thirty years in San Pablo Huitzo, near Oaxaca City. The workshop has become a vital meeting point for the teaching and exchange of artistic techniques — printmaking, stained glass, ceramics, sculpture, and high-quality editions in engraving.

Now, Copalli Art Gallery in Huatulco is honored to present, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Enrique Flores Workshop, a new exhibition featuring recent works by the master. On this occasion, he is joined by ten internationally recognized Oaxacan artists, reflecting the strength and diversity of contemporary art from the region.

The exhibition, “Enrique Flores Workshop and Artists of Oaxaca,” opens on December 21 at 6:30 p.m. and will remain on view until January 18, 2026, at Punta Tangolunda (across from the entrance to the Golf Club). The opening event will feature Chef Eusebio Villalobos and live music.

Huatulco

Poker of Queens

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By José Palacios y Román

Any time is a good time to bring together talents. Just as in ancient times, Alexandria gathered wise men in its library; beautiful Athens, thinkers and philosophers; Florence was the cradle of the Italian Renaissance with artists, political scientists, inventors; and so, more recently, Silicon Valley, with technologists and innovators…

In Huatulco, four talented local women who love the art of painting and who have come to paint through different paths will converge to exhibit half a dozen of their most recent works on Friday, November 14th at 6:30 p.m. at the Copalli Art Gallery in the Tangolunda hotel zone. Each one will present their own creative proposal, creating a synergy that fosters recognition, enjoyment, and reflection, sharing their most recent creations with the local population, seasonal residents, and visitors or tourists.

The four female figures resemble each other and join together to share the exhibition title “Poker of Queens,” a symbolic game where, like a Tarot deck, there are hidden messages, subtle intuitions, chance, and the connection to other realities. The conjunction of the painters: Edna Guzmán, Julieta Valadéz, Aranza León, and Alma Drew, each with her own unique style, offers original pieces with the healthy desire to come together and exhibit their paintings, carefully chosen for this art show.

With this first exhibition, the Copally Art Gallery inaugurates the 2025-2026 season of the Weekend Art Show series for three consecutive years. This edition focuses primarily on local artists. This time, the artists are Edna Guzmán, recognized for her extensive career; Julieta Valadéz, from a family of artists and expressive in her painting; Aranza León, trained in academia with great creative force; and Alma Drew, versatile in her proposals and tireless in her pictorial work.

The opening will feature live music by Ilhui LomeVal, a welcome cocktail, and the presence of the four artists for a shared love of art. Poker de Reinas will be on display from November 14th to December 6th, 2025.

Huatulco

Huatulco, an Enclave of Cultures

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By José Palacios y Román

Long before the arrival of the Aztec (Nahuatl) people in the Valley of Mexico—and centuries before the Spanish conquest— the Oaxacan coast was home to thriving civilizations. The bays of Huatulco and their surrounding forests were dotted with human settlements and centers of high culture.

One of the most remarkable sites is the Copalita Eco-Archaeological Park, with its sanctuaries, ritual ball court, astronomical observatory, and sacred spaces for solar and lunar ceremonies. Archaeologists believe this was a cosmopolitan hub where diverse pre-Hispanic cultures—the Chontal, Zapotec, Mixtec, and even the Maya—converged. Much remains to be studied, but the late anthropologist Raúl Matadamas identified more than 180 unexplored vestiges in the region, including significant remains at the stunning Cacaluta Beach.

While written history only scratches the surface of this region’s cultural richness, Huatulco continues to evolve. Just fifty years ago, the local population relied primarily on fishing, corn farming, and seasonal coffee harvests. Today, tourism drives the economy, yet a new generation—rooted in ancestral traditions—is emerging with fresh artistic energy.

The natural beauty of Huatulco has long inspired artists from around the world, but it is the local painters who have given the region a distinct cultural identity. Masters such as Rafael Ortega, Abdías García, Edna Guzmán, Hergón, Heriberto Palafox, Susana Rubín, and Aranza León have established a lasting legacy, exhibiting in the few but growing number of local galleries.

Foreign collectors from Canada, the United States, and Europe have also played a role in elevating the region’s art scene, acquiring works that capture the pulse and emotion of Mexican creativity. Beyond its aesthetic power, art here has become a meaningful investment and a bridge connecting cultures.

For those eager to experience this creative spirit, the Copalli Art Gallery in Tangolunda offers a curated selection of works by local, national, and international artists. It stands as a testament to Huatulco’s unique blend of history, nature, and artistic expression—an open invitation to discover all this coastal enclave has to offer.

Info: http://www.facebook.com/copalligallery