Central Mexico is home to a lot of different artisan communities. Escolasticas artisans specialize in stone carving. Santa Clara is the home of coppersmiths. The list is historic, long, and well-deserved. This is a story about woodcarving and a portfolio of images from a small town made to carve wood.
Apaseo el Alto, near Celaya, about 70 km from San Miguel de Allende, is a slice taken directly from the belly of the real Mexico you never read about in blogs or travel websites because when you get there, there's nothing to do but be Mexican, and since Cortez, throughout Mexico, being Mexican has included an almost Don Quixotic embrace and passion for anonymity. Not wanting to be known is built into the construct of being part of the older generations of Mexico, but the folks who live here want to be here, and they love it.
You can count on the fingers of almost no hands the number of white folks walking the streets in Aapaseo. The city of about 65,000 people doesn't concern itself with ex-pats, gringo tourists, or gringo dollars. There isn't a selfie location anywhere. It's a solid, healthy, two-story, cement and brick, working-class town, and it simply doesn't care about white guys and what guys care about. Like every small town in this part of Mexico, the city spreads out close to the ground, like a dusty, sun-burned carpet across the high desert landscape of Central Mexico. Its citizens would say they are, first and foremost, children of the church and the Virgen of Guadalupe. Secondly, they are family members; third, they say they are Mexican. Apaseo el Alto is deep into the guts of authentic Mexico. Its treasures lie inside the hearts of its hard-working citizens. They are a kind and gentle breed. They are suited to be Mexican.
Apaseo is also the home to about 300 men and a couple of women who specialize in giving new life and form to many types of regional Mexican wood, such as palo santo, sabino, cedro caoba, and pine. They have dedicated their lives to their craft. They are the woodcarvers of Apaseo.
Woodcarving began about 70 years ago in Apaseo when Professor Domingo Galván learned to carve religious sculptures for the local church. The current carvers honor the memory of Domingo Galván by continuing a tradition of dedication to excellence in artistic form. The first generation of carvings were and continue to be religious figures. Later, they added animals and birds. Then came furniture, dining room sets, desks, conference tables, purely abstract artistic forms, and custom carvings done to order.
Today, many current artisan studios are close to the main highway (45) that passes through town. You can see these artisans at work, admire their carvings, and affordably buy furniture, sculptures, and custom carvings for your home or office. It's a great day trip from San Miguel and worth every minute of your time.
Every year, around March 18th, the city celebrates carvers with the Apaseo Woodworking Festival, which lasts a week. Carvers are at work in the Jardin; there is a competition between carvers for the best individual carving, and all the studios are open for tours. The woodworking for sale is incredibly affordable compared to what you would pay working with architects, designers, and artisan outlets in larger cities. Apaseo is a must-see for the highest quality local woodcarving art.
As with many Mexican artisans, the publicity for their work is not what it could be. Unfortunately, the artisans often get left behind when their art is exhibited. It's a common problem among native artists around the world. They sell directly out of their small studios, and that's about it. The middle guys and the distributors get the cash. The art gets sold in cities at great expense, and the artists often get lost. The artists don't sign their work because they often think they don't deserve the credit. The middle guys and sometimes the showrooms take the credit. It's not fair, and it's not ethical. These artists are creating extraordinary work; too often, they get little credit and very little money. It's been like this for so long; it's how life is assumed – the artist's get numb to the reality of it all, and the whole thing comfortably fits into the unknown authorship of being Mexican.
Luckily, a small, relatively unknown local gallery in San Miguel is having a series of shows highlighting the work of the artisans of Apaseo el Alto. Galeria Del Impresionismo is doing a show in July highlighting the portfolio of the maestro carver Salvador Camacho. Margo Lwna, the owner of Galeria Del Impresionismo , says, "We want to give exposure and fair prices to native artisans who seldom get a chance to show their work outside of their small local studios. We will do four woodcarving shows like this between July and August. Please take a moment to see the first show on July 15th and 16th, on the Institute Allende art walk, with Salvador carving in person in the gallery. Margo will act as interpreter, and you can talk to Salvador. You can learn a little about the fantastic woodcarvers of Apaseo. Then, on your own, take another moment or two and travel to Apaseo for a wonderful afternoon seeing the art being created right in front of you." The entrance to the San Miguel gallery is located at 83-A Zacateros, in Centro, right between Café Monet and Olio Fino Olive Oil. For information, please get in touch with Margo Lwna on WhatsApp at 415-102-1298 or by email at assistance@margolwna.com
This portfolio of images was created over about six months while Margo and I started working on the story and the gallery show. We had to build some trust in our relationships with these artisans. I hope you’ll get a feel for these folks and see a little of what it’s like to be a woodcarver in Apaseo el Alto.
Woodcarvers Of Apaseo el Alto - exhibit
Saturday, Sunday, July 15-16, 11am-6pm
Galería del Impresionismo, Zacateros 83a
(between Cafe Monet and Olio Fino)
My Studio Art Walk
Margo Lwna: assistance@margolwna.com 415-102-1298
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