Artists of Todos Santos

Our final "Meet the Artist" talk of the season will be given by  Homero Martinez Chairez, on March 25th at our usual time and place (5:30 p.m. at Cafelix).  The talk will be in both English and Spanish.  Homero is a self-taught wood carver, who is currently working in an improvised studio at the Hotel California Emporium.  Homero will bring several pieces of his work to illustrate his talk.  Homero provided the following introduction to his journey as an artist and to his work:

"Homero was born in 1967, in the border town of Juarez Chihuahua. He became interested in arts at an early age, particpating in classes such as, engraving, crafts, classic guitar, and music in the “University kids orchestra” as 2nd clarinet, and 1st trombone in the department de Bellas Artes of the university of Ciudad Juarez. He was certain he wanted to be an architect until, at 15, by chance, he discovered the bottom of the sea, and turned towards marine biology, which brought him to La Paz,, Baja California Sur in 1988.

For commercial and chance reasons (again), in 1996, along with his best friend Edgar Perez de Leon, he became involved with the promotion and sales of local craft in the project “Paisajes de Sudcalifornia, with the soul of our Land and the essence of our People, Art, Craft and Décor”. Through this he found a way to exploit his creativity in the making of crafts, landscaping, furniture, home spaces, and eventually wood carving. Without formal studies in art other than some classes on clay modeling and influenced by his primary passion, sea life, Homero has pleased people since then with dessert and submarine landscapes, as well with various animal carvings, that are alive with a simplicity yet full of textures. In his recent underwater work he shows us reef scenes so full of life that quietly invite us to dive in his wooden ocean."

From the feedback we've received to date, yesterday's 1st Annual Todos Santos Artist Studio tour was enjoyed by all who participated - the visitors, the artists, the galleries and the restaurants who generously gave a 20% discount on food to people on the tour.  Several artists commented that there was a lively energy evident in all their interactions.  We showed people a glimpse into parts of our town that remain hidden to the casual eye.  A frequent comment by locals was that they had no idea that there were so many artists in town, nor that there was such a range of work and styles.  For people from out of town, we opened their eyes to the fact that Todos Santos is much more than the two streets that most tourists encounter.  Few (if any) people managed to complete the tour of all artists and galleries in the one day.  So there will be plenty more to see next year (and, we hope, some more artists who join the tour).

Our thanks go out to the many people who volunteered their time and skills to make this event successful.  As a result of your efforts, the proceeds will enable a substantial donation to be made to the children's art programs of both The Palapa Society and Escuela Pacifica inTodos Santos.

If you click on the "read more" below, you'll see a few more photos of the day.