I went to the home of Saul Aragon and his wife, Alma. They have a beautiful place in Arrazola. After watching Alma calmly paint an octopus, drying it in the sun, looking after the kids, the dogs, and so on, I learned more about the art form and the family. For the past eight years, Saul has been coming to San Jose State to meet with students to talk about the traditions of Oaxaca, creating alebrijes, the system of usos and costumbres that the pueblo is governed by (I mentioned this in relation to the volunteer police force, for example, in Teotitlan del Valle) and that engages people in keeping the town clean and running smoothly, and in relation to preserving the ecology (in particular engaging children in reforestation because the community is dependent upon the copal tree).
From their home, I could see the pyramids of Monte Alban. Saul said if one is a fast walker, it only takes 45 minutes, but a slow ascent can take as long as an hour and a half. His older parents go every day to sell reproductions of Monte Alban and masks. They take a bus, but when they were younger, they would walk every day.
As we walked to his sister’s house (Lety) to see her workshop, I commented on how Arrazola has a San Franciscoesque feel to it because of the steep hills. Saul mentioned that this is good because even when they have huge rains the water runs off down the hills and keeps running.
Lety and Alma were my patient teachers a year and a half ago. In addition to creating beautiful things they have extraordinary patience and can clearly explain how to make various designs using tools as simple as toothpicks.
I spent a few hours in the city enjoying the stillness. I will return again on Saturday to take thirty photos of eleven of the artists’ collections. I am looking forward to meeting more of the friendly people in this town.
shewhodaresnothing 