Mata Ortiz Trip Log

April 2-4, 2004

Click on any photo to enlarge

At 7:30 AM our hardy group of 6 headed south of the border in the rain on Friday. Dave and Jo drove. Riders were Carolyn, Kat, Ed and Chris. We reached Naco at 10:00, got our visas and car permits and were on our way by 10:40. We stopped for a picnic lunch in the Sierra Madre Mountains and waved as the truckers passed by.

We arrived in Janos at 2:00 for a quick stop, then on to Nuevo Casas Grandes, arriving at 2:45. 

Dave and Carolyn escorted the group to the ancient city of Paquimé where they toured the beautiful museum and ruins. 

Meanwhile, Dave and Carolyn headed back to NCG to meet potter Salvador Baca and his wife Virginia. Dave had seen his work in Tucson galleries and had to have one of his pieces. They took us to their home where we bought not one, but three pieces. A great start to our pot buying adventure!

We met the others back at Paquimé and left about 4:30. Our route to Mata Ortiz was an adventure in itself. A new road is being put in to the village, but nothing is marked, so we headed down a newly paved road. Dave's GPS said we were going in the right direction and we felt confident. But after about 4 miles, we came to a bridge that wasn't completed. A guy on a huge grader motioned us off the road and into the riverbed. We bumped over some huge rocks, across the river and up a steep embankment. We were glad both vehicles were four wheel drive. After some more twists and turns and another river crossing, we found ourselves on the "old" dirt road heading into Mata Ortiz and arrived about 5:15. 

We checked into the Adobe Inn and immediately headed to Jorge Quintana's Gallery. His stock was low and we only bought a couple of pots there. When we left, a little girl about 3 years old asked us to cross the street to see some pots. Her mother, Mary Rodriquez welcomed us into her home and showed us some nice pots.

Then we headed back to the Inn for wine, hors d'ouevres and relaxation after our long day's drive. Dinner was steak and salad with french fries and salsa. For dessert we had chocolate cookies and vanilla wafers.

As we ate, potters began arriving with their wares and set them up on the table across the room. They waited patiently until we finished eating as they knew we couldn't resist just "taking a look". There were many fine pieces of pottery and many were sold that night.

The next morning brought beautiful weather. At 7:00, Dave, Jo and Kat went walking through the village, guided by the Inn's dogs, Sultan and Bobby. They took us to the village square and through the dusty streets. Marta Martinez came out of her home to greet us and we talked for a few minutes. Then we spotted a huge lilac bush in bloom and went to take a photo. Antonia Mora came out and asked if we would like to see her pots. Of course we went in and Jo bought one.

We crossed the railroad tracks and headed back to the Inn, stopping along the way to see the town's impressive baseball stadium.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon (Mexican bacon is the best!), beans, tortillas, salsa, cantaloupe and coffee.

Santa showed up at 9:00 to guide us to Lila Silveira's house. Dave bought a gorgeous pot made by her mother, Socorro Sandobal. 

Jo wanted to find a potter named Gerardo Tena, so Lila's husband Carlos gave us directions and in two minutes were were there. Gerardo's wife greeted us and invited us in. He had many pieces in various stages, but few complete pieces. His prices were high, but the quality and originality was excellent. Jo bought an unfinished piece which we asked Gary to pick up on Tuesday when he comes down. Other potters were waiting for us as we emerged, and a few more pieces were purchased.

Next stop was Juan Quezada's Gallery. It had been expanded greatly since we had been in October. He now has hundreds of pieces from the Quezada family and others in the village. The prices were very reasonable. After about 1/2 hour there, we were stunned to see a bus pull up outside and unload a large group of elderly American tourists. Buses never used to come to Mata Ortiz, because of the bad road. Unfortunately this will change in the future. These people were on a two week trip of Mexico and pottery was not high on their list, so we don't think many sales were made. But we didn't wait around to find out. When the horde entered the gallery, we left.

The we headed across town to Leonel Lopez's house where pots were purchased by Ed and Chris and Carolyn. A lady across the street invited us to her home, where she had made pot rests in the shape of lizards. Dave had to have one of those.

We went to find Suzy Martinez's house, but no one was home. Then we were off to the blue house gallery. We don't know the name, but it's a favorite and is run by one of the Gallegos kin.

Back to the Inn for lunch of flat enchiladas and salad and more pots showed up.

After lunch we found Patty Lopez's house where Carolyn ordered an effigy pot to be picked up in October on our next trip.

We felt pretty potted-out by then and most had over-extended their pot money, so we headed back to the hotel with a plan to just walk down to Blanca Quezada's house. But we knocked on the wrong door and met Steve Rose who described himself as an "e-vile trader". Steve took us to Blanca's house and interpreted for us. Then he toured us around his place and took us to Hector and Graciela Gallegos' home where Ed and Chris bought a GG pot. He then took us to see Manolo Rodriquez.

After a short nap, we were off to see Suzy Martinez again. She was home, but didn't have any of the black pots that Jo was looking for. The we visited Laura Bugarini who is 8 months "embarazada" and due in May. She had nothing to sell, but talked with us for quite some time. She was working on a small pot and invited us to return to her home every time we come to Mata Ortiz. Her work is incredible!

On the way back, we noticed that Jorge Quintana was unloading a truck full of boxes. We stopped and he said to come back in 1/2 hour. We did and he had a full gallery full of pots. Unfortunately, most of the pot money was gone. But thanks to Kat and her checkbook, several people were able to buy some more. Jorge did not charge us a fee for the checks. He also does a great job of packaging the pots.

Back at the Inn, Kat found two "last" pots she needed. Then we had our traditional pre-dinner party followed by salad, barbacoa de pollo, beans, rice, tortillas and cookies. During dinner a few potters arrived, but we were truly finished with our buying spree. We had to tell them "no mas dinero". In fact we had counted our money to be sure we could buy enough gas to get home!

Late Saturday night it started raining. It rained most of the night and some of us wondered what the dirt roads would be like on our way out. We had our usual hearty breakfast and left the Inn by 8:45.

On the way out we saw the ruins of the Hacienda de San Diego, then wound around through detours, crossed the river and found our way back to the paved road.

We made a quick stop at Salvador Baca's home where some of us scraped up a few more dollars for our last pot fix. We gassed up in Nuevo Casas Grandes and headed north through a heavy rain squall. Then west over the Sierra Madre where we stopped for lunch of burritos prepared for us by the cooks at the Inn. We wound down the mountain and arrived at the Naco border by 2:30 PM where we crossed with out incident.

By 5:00 PM we were home unpacking our treasures and thinking about our next trip to the sleepy little village where artistry seems to grow on trees. 

Galleria de Ollas

A few shots of Mata Ortiz. Click on any photo to enlarge.

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