By Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
Apolinar Aguilar stands over a large iron anvil, heavy mallet in one hand and a pair of long metal tongs gripped around a length of red hot steel in the other. Behind him is a stone and clay hearth; and to one side, feeding air into it, is a rudimentary wood and skin blacksmith’s bellows. These are the tools of the trade in this grand master’s artistic cuchillería or knife-making workshop. Continue reading The Artistic Knife-Making Workshop of Apolinar Aguilar
by Carole Reedy
A vast and varied selection of art museums awaits you in Mexico City, part of its larger cultural program for citizens and tourists alike. While it’s impossible to do justice to all in one article, here’s a jewel box of small treasures, favorites of people who live here and the places they take out-of-town visitors. Continue reading Less Is More: The Small Art Museums of Mexico City
By Brooke Gazer
Cristina Bayliss is an artist who arrived on the Costa Chica for a brief vacation 20 years ago and never left. Originally from the UK, she graduated from Bristol Art School in 1983. After teaching for three years she wisely decided that life was too short to spend disciplining children and moved on. Taking a position as a cook aboard a sailboat landed her in the Virgin Islands where she began selling her watercolors. Continue reading Artist Develops Her Own Style on the Costa Chica
By Neal EricksonSanta Maria Huatulco, an ancient town in the south-central part of the State of Oaxaca, was “conquered” by Hernan Cortes for Spain in 1539. Today it is a city of about 33,000 people, and is the seat of government of the Municipality of Santa Maria Huatulco. In Mexico the municipality is similar to the United States’ county in local government, so in the U.S. it would be called the “county seat”. Just west of the Huatulco International Airport, the road to Santa Maria is perpendicular to the coast highway and heads north (taking this road south will lead you to San Augustin Beach). Approximately seven miles (10-11km) later, it enters the outskirts of town. Continue reading A Sight to See: The Mural at Santa Maria Huatulco
By Carole Reedy
Combine Shakespeare’s 17th-century romance with the backdrop of Milan’s 18th-century Baroque La Scala Opera House. Then sit back and enjoy Thomas Adès’ 21st-century opera, a magical production both musically and visually.
This Met premiere and new production by Robert Lepage, most recently remembered for his staging of the ambitious Wagner Ring Cycle (which he created for the Met), promises to amaze, as does most of his work. Imagine this: In order to play tricks on his enemies, Prospero, an 18th-century impresario from Milan, surrounds himself with a scale-sized La Scala opera house on the island of his banishment. “A boxful of magic tricks” takes place, acrobats and dancers all around. Lepage explains that each of the three acts presents a different perspective—from the stage itself, from the auditorium, and from backstage and off-stage—to make up this “opera-within-an-opera house.” Continue reading Sneak Preview THE TEMPEST: November’s Opera, Live in HD from the Met
By Carole Reedy
Operas by two of the most popular Italian 19 century composers, Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi, open this seventh Metropolitan Opera HDtransmission season. Don’t forget to see if your location broadcasts Sergio Vela’s informative charla, transmitted live from the Lunario in Mexico City at 10:30 am. This talk offers many tools to understand and enjoy the history of the opera, its characters, and composer, besides being great fun. Vela’s knowledge of opera is beyond “we mortals”!
All operas are scheduled to be shown in Oaxaca City at the Teatro Macedonia Alcala, in Mexico City at the Auditorio Nacional, as well as other locations throughout the country. See ‘The Eye’s September 2012 issue for a complete listing of the locations in Mexico as well as for the complete opera season. Continue reading Operas Sneak Preview: Live from the MET in New York
By Carole Reedy
Arias pouring into the dry night air from the casinos of Las Vegas? Just one of the challenges Peter Gelb has set for himself this season with a new production of Rigoletto, the classic Verdi opera from Italy that will be set in what Gelb calls the “misogynist rat-pack world of Las Vegas in the 1960s.” Continue reading The Met Opera Goes to Las Vegas: From Red to Black, the Gamble Pays Off
By Neal Erickson
On August 5, Chavela Vargas died at age 93. She had just returned from a trip to Madrid, Spain promoting “La Luna Grande,” her new CD dedicated to the famous Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. “I came to say farewell to Federico, to my friends, and to Spain,…and now I return to die in my own country,” she said in a brief address at his gravesite. She became ill soon after the ceremony, and after 10 days in a hospital there she was brought to Cuernavaca where she passed away. In her lifetime she came to be an icon and a pleasure for those who heard her sing. For those who knew her, she was a unique and eccentric character. Her last words were, “I go with Mexico in my heart.” Continue reading A Legend Passes
By Liz Healey
When Beltran Arenas, a reporter/photographer from Oaxaca City first arrived in Salchi 5 years ago with his friend, Meghan Wood, he couldn’t imagine what a life-changing visit it would be. Beltran wanted to learn English, and he was soon adopted into the Wood family.
Meghan’s mother, Annie, is an artist, and Beltran became fascinated with her projects in Salchi, especially the tile mosaics that she was creating. He worked with Annie to refine his artistic talents and was soon designing and creating his own tile masterpieces. He created the Salchi logo and did several large pieces in homes. Continue reading Salchi’s Artist in Residence
By Carole Reedy
From sculptures made of radishes and a mole fiesta to religious and civil ceremonies, your travels in the republic of Mexico will be rich with the joy and excitement felt by all at the annual fairs and festivals. Every year, all the towns in Mexico, no matter how small, celebrate their saint’s day with a feria or festival, centered on days and sometimes weeks of celebration. Here we’ll look at a few of the more popular fairs to whet your appetite. Join in the fun. The people of México love to share their traditions and gastronomic treasures with foreigners. You will be welcomed warmly. Continue reading ¡VIVA! The Fairs and Festivals of Mexico
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