“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” Henri Matisse
Feria is finally here after weeks of flower-making decorations – the final results were outstanding. We spent all day Thursday decorating the arch entryway… well also you need to deduct a few hours for a well-deserved and relaxing lunch with free margaritas (order an entree and the margaritas just flow). Back to work with praises galore for the end results and the entire fairgrounds where flowers appeared. Kudos to our fearless, creative, flower-driven leader and our friend, Arvada.
While working on the arch we were privy to watching the arriving vendors and their wares. The Feria represents the best of Mexican folkloric arts in all its mediums: pottery, textiles, wood, metal, leather, beading, paper, etc. … for those from Southern California think Sawdust Festival, but in vibrant, unending colors.
We had a chance to preview and shop the grounds prior to the official opening. David fell for a ceramic Pavoreal (peacock) from a Michoacán artisan. Returning on Saturday we found a few more treasures – a handcrafted, exquisite knife, silverware, and a beautiful corn husk Christmas wreath.
I have written before that David is always finding money as we walk. I think he is up to almost 300 pesos. Well, guess what … as we enter the Feria grounds he finds another lucky diez centavos. Why lucky? The centavos and the purchase of a few raffles tickets…. a day later and the call comes and he’d won a beautiful, ceramic vase from Oaxaca. We quickly set out to seek the artist’s booth and a few words later … we’ll be visiting her studio on our upcoming trip to Oaxaca in January………
This week we also ventured to Guadalajara, in search of Abastos, the central produce market; the size of roughly 30 city blocks. It’s hard to tell where it ends … with its cacophonous street theatre of buyers and sellers as they shop and haggle in an open market.
The heart of Abastos is its aisles lined with booths selling fresh produce, meats, and seafood, but in adjacent shops, it’s possible to outfit an entire restaurant.
The produce is, well, brightly colored and symmetrically arranger, you feel like you are walking through a still-life. Sacks of onions, mounds of cilantro, half cows, tables of fish, bags of beans. Everything is offered in commercial quantities, but no merchant will turn you away for just buying a kilo of tomatoes. The tremendous farming output of Mexico is on full display in this remarkable area.
As to eating in this city within a city, you will be able to find a myriad of choices including Japanese, and all the while being serenaded by a four-piece traveling band adding to the delicious cacophony.
Our next stop in our adventure was a high-end furniture store in the Zapopan area where we swooped in and swooped up with what we’re looking for, on sale, and conveniently delivered two days later!
Today we got a Mexican mobile number; had to buy them ☎️ and it’s an android … now need to learn a whole new system…..but the Apple phone was priced prohibitively. Our cell plan – $20 a month dollars unlimited.
