ADIOS MES DE AMOR #1

So goes my shaky Spanish: goodby month of love, part 1!
Really, where did February go? Which is much like the question I asked myself last weekend: how'd I get to be 59?
Even though we're blessed with a 29th day this year, the month has flown by.
Midst my trip to Chiapas and an added escape to Guadalajara during our city's Carnaval celebration, we had four fun dyeing days in my studio. One session was particularly busy with my Minnesota friend, Mary (another Mary, aka Orange Mary as that is the color she almost always wears), as she tie dyed meters and meters of fabric for her granddaughter's SKIRTS FOR PEACE project. Check it out on the web: www.skirtsforpeace.com.

During the last five years, Mazatlan has really found it's place in the art scene. My friend, Glen Rogers, brought the First Friday Artwalk to our town and it truly is a fantastic, crowd-drawing event. I participated for the first three years, but then dropped out to focus on my groups and my slow-to-produce craft that doesn't lend itself well to commercialism. I was missing having my work "out there" so happily participated in Glen's gallery, Luna (lunacontempo.com) for the annual Valentine show. The one directly above is my "credit card" piece I call "Circles of Love".  I thickened different colors of dye, squirted them on my treated fabric, then spread the color to fill in the spaces with the side of an old credit card. It was fun, easy, and I just had to quilt it!

CHIAPAS - PART TWO

I am back home now and spin-drying the full color memories of my trip to Chiapas. These are guaranteed to be color-fast, not to fade easily.

We were on the go each of our twelve days, either on our own, roaming the streets of San Cristobal de las Casas, or with our guide, Alex(www.cieloytierratours.com), exploring the ruins,

or the villages, or popular “water” spots:  Sumidero Canyon, Agua Azul or El Chiflon.

Since Chiapas provides 35-50% (two different figures I heard…take your pick!) of Mexico’s hydroelectric power, you can imagine how much water there is in this southernmost state of Mexico. Supposedly the rainy season is from May through October, which adds up to big rivers, big waterfalls, BIG water. And with big water comes amazing GREEN, particularly in the lower elevations.

Most amazing were our visits to the indigenous communities. With Alex we felt comfortable, rather than intrusive gringas. Under his direction, we put our cameras away, and tried to respect these villagers' requests to not be "in their faces” with our pushy western ways. San Juan de Chamula was the most unique village and certainly the strongest in their desire to retain their culture.

They have created their own religion (within the structure of the Catholic Church) and use this building as a gathering place for worshipping in their own way. The priests have been kicked out (except for baptisms) and it is common to see healers of all types at work, along with hundreds of candles burning (different colors for different requests),
pox and coca-cola being consumed (burping up coke is a way to rid oneself of the bad), groups or individuals chatting, all dressed in indigenous clothing that is the norm. As I said before, it was like stepping back in time.

All throughout these Mayan lands (from the Yucatan down to Honduras) there are many ruins of ancient sites. On this trip we visited three: Palenque, Tonina, and Tenam Puente.

To imagine what these sites must have been like 12 or 13 hundred years ago, with their incredible architecture and connection to the planets and the stars, seasons and their mathematical mastery is truly mind-boggling.

Another interesting aspect of this area was the recent revolution of the Zapatistas against the government. We saw two good movies on these revolutionary events that began in 1994, and although there is little that we witnessed on our trip besides signage along the roadsides and souvenirs in the shops, I believe it’s not over yet. The government has been more responsive to the Chiapanecans, but there’s a long way to go for the indigenous people to have their basic needs met.

Our travels in Chiapas once again confirmed that we are living in a truly amazing country with gracious people, fascinating history, and interesting culture. We never felt unsafe, as the northern media would like travelers to question. Go, visit, travel, search and find. All of Mexico is a jewel, waiting to be discovered.