VINTAGE FOLK ART vs. MODERN MEXICO

​Since the 1930's and the arrival of the great Highway that linked the Americas, Mexico tourism grew by leaps and bounds. Border towns prospered by American's looking for a foreign experience-- be it going on holiday in a warm friendly environment, or a quick day trip across the border.  Among the holiday seekers, there were two major stopping off points: the artist communities of Tlaquepaque and Tonala, located outside of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. There, American tourists could dine, sleep and shop all that Mexico had to offer.  A pottery trade emerged solely based on the tourist dollar.

As the decades progressed and the roads got wider, pottery centers sprang up in nearly every state - many have become familiar in recent years: Oaxaca is home to San Bartolo Coyotepec, Santa Maria Atzompa and Ocotlan de Morelos-- the state of Puebla is home to Izucar de Matamoros, Acatlan de Osorio, and the famous Talavera.  Ocumicho and Tzintzuntzan are in Michoachan, Chililco is in the state of Hidalgo, Guerrero is home to Ameyaltepec, Guanajuato is home to Mayolica, Yucatan to the Mayan community of Nahua, and Chihuahua to Paquime, better known as Mata Ortiz.  Artist families grew and made their livelihood from it, and it is their works/creations that are so popular today: Julian Acero,​ Josefina Aguilar, Josefina Arias, Barro Betus, Teodora Blanco, Tomas Canhil, Alfonso Castillo,  Farias, Amado Galvan, Adrian Gonzalez​, Gorky Gonzalez,  Emilio Hurtado, Balbino Lucano, Elias Lopez, Magdelano, Heron Martinez, Candelario Medrano, Angel Ortiz, Pantaleon Panduro, Delores Porras, Coldivar Ramos, Dona Rosa, Solis and Jimon, Oscar Soteno, Angelica Vasquez and Jorge Wilmot-- the list goes on!  All have become sought after by tourists and collectors alike. For decades, border towns flourished selling wares from all of Mexico...

Sadly, times are different now as rising binational economic pressures of recent decades put increasingly harsh burdens on border cities and, especially in these times, any tourism whatsoever south of the border has pretty much ground to a halt.

Luckily we, from our little shop in Tucson, continue our searches though estates sales and thrift shops around Arizona, New Mexico and on occasion, even Southwestern Texas (see Kevin's The Road)-- searching for exquisite, unrecognized, and forgotten treasures.

This site represents a hand-picked sampling of what 'Vintage Mexican' encompasses, with a splash of Mayan, Latin American, and a dash of  Mexican/Mid-Century Modern thrown in. Enjoy!