As it turns out, Sunday tumbled into our arms as if it had slipped on a banana peel. Craig and I were almost late to our own shindig, which is becoming a habit. Once again, we worked until we either had to get dressed or go grubby. While Waldo and Lidia took a carload of wine and food to the gallery, I hurried upstairs, looking at my phone for new messages. I had reason.
Half an hour previously, while I was still in a flurry of frantic activity, I had received a text from Joaquina. As I mentioned in my previous post Sunday, Sunday, which is a preamble to today's, her messages are always perfectly written, as was this one. It was the content that threw me for a loop. In short, and translated, it read:
"Don't pick me up at my house."
What? What does that mean? Did she have stage fright? Don't tell me she was going to miss the opening, the world premiere of her paintings! I texted back:
"Of course I'm picking you up at your house. You're the star of the show!"
I called Pam, a neighbor and fellow Joaquina-supporter, who offered to stop at Joaquina's on her way and let me know what might be going on. There was nothing yet on my phone. Damn.
I dressed like a whirling dervish and ran back down the stairs right behind Craig. We were gathering up last minute things that needed to go when a car horn tooted outside: Waldo was back to pick us up. It was 4:00, time for the show to start. Craig and I decided we'd all stop at Joaquina's and if there was a problem, Waldo could take Craig to the gallery and come back for me. At least one of us would be at the gallery.
Waldo came in the front door. Your guests are already arriving, he announced. And, by the way, Joaquina is in the car.
What? How? He'd found her walking from her office on main street back up toward her house and mine. Why? I asked. Waldo shrugged, mystified. She's fine, he said. She's in the car.
Now, I have to tell you that conversing with Joaquina is not all that easy. First of all, she reads lips, so you have to be looking directly at her when you talk. Secondly, she reads lips in Spanish, so while you're looking at her and talking you have to be speaking Spanish. And thirdly, she is almost impossible for me to understand unless she has her teeth in, which is not all that often.
Tonight she had her teeth in.
She said, I sent you another text! I said, I didn't get it. She said, I hate waiting and I was very restless so I went to the office because it's easier for you to turn around there. I said, oh whatever, at least I've got you. I said, Are you excited? She nodded and grinned and we giggled at each other.
By now we had arrived at La Casita Mágica. Craig and Doug had thought to put a couple of empty easels and a box in the road to save us a parking place, which is standard operating procedure in San Pancho although we'd never done it before. It works. We had rock star parking. And the show was on.
Oh, it was super. Eva had set up her taco-cooking stand along the sidewalk, the tables were there and dressed, Lidia was already pouring Sangria and people were arriving by the dozens.
The gallery was filling up.
I walked inside with Joaquina. I wanted to show her how Craig had displayed her pictures. I couldn't wait to see her face when she saw her paintings on the wall.
That's the photo I took of her in the top left corner. The photos under the lights are old treasures I borrowed from her long enough to do some repair work and make prints for her. On either end are her parents, the only pictures she has of them. The originals are two inches by three inches. The center ones are of Joaquina as a young mother in a very much smaller and simpler San Pancho.
She was happy. I was, too.
Everyone was amazed at her work.
Fortunately Phil Parker, our right-hand man who happens to be on the left in this photo, was there to field questions and handle sales.
Outside, Juan Carlos and Fernando had begun to play and guests were still arriving.
I brought out our little tip jar. We believe that artists need to be paid well for their work, and that musicians need to be paid and tipped.
Below is Ariel Sainz, pouring himself a refresco. Ariel is co-founder of two of San Pancho's main cultural centers, one the art Colectivo; and, with Glades Castro, Bodega Teatro, our new performing art space. He is also one of the artists exhibiting in the show.
These are from his series Horizontes, Horizons.
Elvia and Ananda came. Elvia exhibited a selection of her charming watercolors.
While she chatted with guests and fellow artists...
...independent Ananda kept herself happily occupied.
Lily came too. Who knew that San Pancho's most famous dog, a member of Elvia and Geno's family, was an art aficionada?
The two artists on exhibit who were not able to make the opening are Citlali and Laurencio Hernandez. Citlali sent us more of her work from Mexico City last week...which, interestingly, Joaquina, the town postmistress, delivered into my hands. The first is a watercolor, the second acrylic on petate, a woven grass mat.
Laurencio, originally from a small province in the state of México, lives here in San Pancho now. His oil paintings are done with pallet knife on canvas.
The people in the next photo are Mike and Vicky Townsend. They came into the gallery and told me they'd met Carlos and Fernando, the musicians, in Sayulita, and the guys had invited them to the gallery and the show. How wonderful!
A little while later, an amazed Craig brought them over to me. Turns out that when we had been in Port Townsend, Washington, over the summer, we had talked with Mike at some length in a shop there. In fact, we bought this hat from him.
Vicky told us that one of the main reasons they'd come to this area was to find La Casita Mágica, as we'd spoken enthusiastically of our plans with Mike at the shop. But they didn't know exactly where it was until their serendipitous conversation with Carlos and Fernando in Sayulita. The little miracles keep on sprouting. I thought Mike looked familiar...
The time came to introduce the artists.
I had the great pleasure of presenting Ariel and Elvia, then of telling my story of Joaquina and her art. Beautiful Glades read, in the original Spanish, Joaquina's response to my question about her art and its significance to her life, after which I read the English translation.
You will find Joaquina's words at the end of this post.
Joaquina didn't see I word I said, as, due to my poor planning, she was sitting behind me.
But I had a chance to tell her all about it later as we celebrated on the outskirts of the crowd.
Pam and I posed for a celebratory photo with our friend the artist, who is looking rather proud of herself, I'd say.
Unusually for this time of year, it began to drizzle at some point during the evening. Craig, who has been in countless bands (our latest idea for a band name is "Tourists on Horses"), scurried to help Alejandro move his equipment from the patio into the gallery. He placed Alejandro in the doorway where he could serenade us in his elegant style (we call him The Mexican Paul Simon) and still stay dry.
What a marvelous evening it was. Craig and I are thrilled to have presented all the artists in the show. We are gratified at the response of all who attended. It's such a joy to bring new and different artists into the light, to expose the range of talent and artistic expression we've already been able to find through La Casita Mágica, and to add these to the gallery's other remarkable artists from in and around our community.
Joaquina was flabbergasted at the sales she made and speechless when I brought her a fistful of pesos yesterday. She needs medicines and new teeth, as hers fit badly, so the income from her work is precious to her. We'll be handling custom paintings for her from the gallery, as several people have asked if she could do a portrait of their San Pancho houses.
Her art is a treasured part of her life. Here is what she says about it:
I started my way along the path of this art first as a fire; but I had fear of being ridiculous. Then little by little I found that I liked it, to the point that today, when I am inspired to paint I feel my soul becoming light and bright, giving me peace and love to pour over every living being.
My works are not masterpieces, for that I have a long way to go. I paint, and in every painting I put some of myself.
My theme : "Let my soul fly lightly full and bright."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An important P.S.: Without the photos of friends, this week's would be a much less colorful column. Thank you, Jim Starkey. Thank you, Lynne Edwards, for the photos, for your cheerful assistance with so many other tasks, and for coming back to San Pancho so we can enjoy your company. See you next year!
And many thanks to Carol Woodring, who took most of the photos in this post and pitched in wherever needed to make the exhibit a reality. She was everywhere at the party with her camera and captured some very special moments that we would have missed entirely. Yay, Carol!
Not only is Joaquina an artist she is also a poet. How touching her statement is. Losing my brother in-law 3 weeks ago has made me exam my soul and my greatest weakness is being too judgmental of people. How easy it would be to see her and judge her and never get to know how beautiful her heart is. Thank you for seeing how special she is and sharing it with us. You both mean so much to me, you are very special people.
Kellie
Posted by: C&K | January 31, 2015 at 06:30 AM
Beautiful! Thanks, Candice. Maria Lee
Posted by: Maria Lee | January 31, 2015 at 05:41 AM