Trees of Life and Master Clay Artisans

Arbol de la vida, the tree of life.  They come in a variation of themes - Adam and Eve, the nacimiento, Noah's arc, God overseeing his kingdom as well as scenes from nature, the animal kingdom, traditional Mexican scenes and dia de los muertos trees.



From the finest two inch miniatures with the tiniest minute detail, to fifteen feet tall trees which are laden with thousands of flowers, people, natural scenes and stories they are hecho a mano right down to the smallest pressed flower.



Besides the decorative trees of life, candleholders, coronas and artistic pieces, the town of Metepec also makes traditional casuelas, cooking pots, cups and natural finish dinnerware as seen in the slideshow below:



VIDEO SLIDESHOW:
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/35753112 w=600&h=375]
© Suzanne da Rosa 2012
Music: Ensamble Continuo

Quinceañera

We've got a new post - You can find it on our NEW SITE

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Gelatina as Art -- And Bookmark Our New Blog Site!

We are MOVING OUR BLOG to our own domain, beginning NOW!
This blog will remain here, but bookmark our new site for all future posts: TALES FROM MEXICO (talesfrommexico.com)

Gelatina as Art
What can I can say about these beautiful gelatin desserts but WOW!
They are eye pleasers for art lovers and palate pleasers for you foodies.
 

They are made by a local person who has obviously spent years in her kitchen playing around in this medium.  They are works of art, almost impossible to imagine how she made each one by hand. Each miniature petal and stamen is hand made out of gelatin and arranged in layers to form these gorgeous edible flowers.  Here's a little slideshow you are going to love:

[slideshow]

Diego Rivera's Anahuacalli Museum

One Reason to love Mexico City:
Diego Rivera's Anahuacalli Museum in Coyoacan.
Over his lifetime, Diego Rivera collected 50,000 pieces of pre-hispanic art. According to the museum staff he bought from 'archaeologists' who robbed temple sites and had a hand in taking pieces himself.

In return, he built this volcanic rock house which mimics a pyramid inside, to give the historic art collection a home and share them with the Mexican people.
[slideshow]
The house took 28 years to build and was unfinished upon his death.  With the generous support of Dolores Olmeda, the house was finished and opened to the public.  I have to say it is an amazing piece of architecture that they say was built with some consultation from Frank Lloyd Wright.


Inside, you are walking inside a pyramid laden with stone mosaics of prehispanic images on both the floor and ceilings, the walls made of volcanic rock from the land the house sits on.  The top floor is home to some of his large mural sketches and houses contemporary shows. It's beautiful and a must see if you are in Mexico city.

© Suzanne da Rosa 2012

New Church Announcement

They came by at 6am this morning, rockets and all. The procession wound through town, past all the other churches for a blessing, then returned to our street about 1pm.

[vimeo 34747123]

The new church in our neighborhood opened its doors today and this is the formal announcement, followed by the man with the black collection box.  If you open your door to watch, you are expected to make a donation.

The Molcajete

Not much I can say that the video doesn't convey. The Molcajete meal at Ten Ten Pie - the bubbling one pot meal which is as good as it looks!
[vimeo 34716566]