THE BUCTZOTZ ARTISTS

In a small Yucatecan village, Maya children play at painting, painting what they play. Here is their story.

Text by María Teresa Mézquita / Photos by Ygnacio Rivero

From a face crinkled with age, the small dark eyes of Don Ciel look out upon the world. Don Ciel is a full-blooded Maya and man of the land; his speech is salted with terms from both his first and second languages—Maya and Spanish respectively—and as usual, he's wearing the straw hat and the rough, leather sandals of the Yucatecan Maya. When someone refers to the importance of the event—the opening of his grandson's one-man show—Don Ciel just smiles. As venerable as the artistic legacy his grandson has clearly inherited, Don Ciel is not surprised that 19-year old Manuel is showing his work in the state capital when big-city artists—formally trained and far more solvent—have achieved little at that age. Don Ciel knows that his people, 'the men of the corn' have been artists since the beginning of time.

    Manuel Jesús May López is a kid from Buctzotz, Yucatan. The people of Buctzotz work with their hands at anything that will put bread on the table. Manuel is no different, only his hands are gifted, and that gift has opened doors the artist never dreamed existed. Manuel's work is selling; his self-doubts have disappeared and he has decided to paint full-time.

    Modestly entitled A Vision of Yucatan, the exposition is a reflection of the artist's milieu, of rural Yucatan, its people and places. The paintings bear titles that are for the most part descriptive: Mestizas y ventero (Mestizas and the Innkeeper), Vendedor de leńa (Seller of Firewood), Patio de mi casa (The Patio of My House), La pareja (The Couple), Jalando agua (Drawing Water), En espera (Waiting), and Entrada a la modernidad (On the Threshold of Modernity).

A TYPICAL DAY IN BUCTZOTZ

Buctzotz is located two and a half hours east of Merida, capital of the state of Yucatan. The bus from the capital stops at the town square, right across from the ayuntamiento (city hall). Every bus is met by a horde of tricitaxis—a kind of tricycle for carting passengers and/or cargo and the town's principal mode of transportation. We negotiate a ride to Casa de los Artistas (artists' house) and soon find ourselves surrounded by young people happily exploring the vicissitudes of color and form. Casa de Los Artistas is a small house giving out to a large, open-air patio, which is surrounded by a series of cubicles. The central courtyard is an all-purpose space for staging cultural events, group lessons, playtime etc. Today, several eight to ten-year olds sit there at a table, drawing.

    Little Josué, his big brown eyes sparkling with intelligence, gets up and comes over. Josué is remarkably self-possessed for a child of ten and informs us that his last name is Baeza Lizama.

    "My best work is in Merida at the Plaza Dorada. That's where it's being sold," he tells us with absolute confidence. He then shows us another piece of his work retrieved from the storeroom. "Run your hand over this painting," he says. "Feel it? The surface is smooth. That is oil. Now feel this. It feels porous, right? That is acrylic. That's how I learned," he beams, the lesson over.

    As the children carry on, playing at painting and painting their play, we hear the maestro and turning, find him standing a few feet away. Victor Argáez Sánchez is a native of Buctzotz and the founder of Casa de Los Artistas. He is giving a class to a group of students from the local grammar school. Five or six kids are seated before him on Coca Cola crates, avidly watching as he discusses color, perspective and form with a blackboard no larger than a small TV.

    In a group of younger kids we see the Ek Baeza sisters, Areli and Susana; their brother Angel is also somewhere around. Soon more kids appear: Margarita Argáez Palma, 11, Isidro Tamayo Jiménez, 12, Juan de Dios Madera Argáez, 9, and Josué of the five-minute lecture.

    David Medina Lizama, 11, pulls his latest work out from under his arm. "This one's not done yet," he says. "The well needs some more gray," he adds. Margarita is a little shy, but after a while she also draws near. Margarita likes beachscapes and when we comment on the fact, she just drops her head and smiles. In the background, a complement to the din of children at play, is the patient voice of Maestro Argáez.

    "If you look close you'll see that this green here is not the same green as the one I used over there," continues David, who after two years of study feels pretty sure of himself. "It's darker because it's in shadow," he concludes.

    These kids started classes a mere two years ago, working from clay up to oils, from figurines to canvases filled with casitas, wells and papagayos. David, Susana, Margarita, Isidro and Juan de Dios... many different kids, all interested in color.

IT IS IN THE BLOOD

The Casa de Los Artistas is an original project, but in no way is it a curiosity. That the indigenous races of Mexico love color, the brighter the better, is common knowledge. The architecture of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica was awash in primary color. It is no wonder the youngsters of Buctzotz are sensitive to it.

    At what point do the ancient Maya connect with the kids of today? What possible link is there between those archaic trailblazers and Casa de Los Artistas with its orthodox techniques and synthetic paints? The answer is, it is in the blood. These kids and their maestro inherited their sensibilities; it a gift of their race.

    Probably the greatest difference between the two groups, ancient and modern, is a matter of attitude. Yesterday's Maya did not paint for personal satisfaction. Their work served a purpose, they were civil servants in the clearest sense. The children of Buctzotz, on the other hand, are learning that art is an expression of one's individuality and part of the joy of being human. The work may have a utilitarian purpose—add a bit of color to the living room—but for all that, its meaning goes beyond its decorative value.

LEAVING THEIR MARK

Argáez developed the idea for Casa de Los Artistas after leaving a group with whom he had been working in Merida. He moved back to Buctzotz in 1993 and opened the workshop on March 6th of that year with some 20 to 30 kids. Twelve youngsters from this original group were the first to exhibit their work in Merida. That groundbreaking show was an historic event: a dozen nervous, young artists and their work in the foyer of the Daniel Ayala Theater, the second most important exhibition site in the city. Less than a year later they were back, and so on every year since, with special efforts made for the most gifted.

    The school has grown over the last six years, having had at one time more than 70 students. However, it has also become more selective, so that kids with real talent can get the attention they deserve. Members of the 'open workshop' receive instruction twice a week on color, line, and what the maestro calls 'the philosophy of art'. They are encouraged to develop their own style, the style that will set them apart as true artists. Toward this end, they are given their own cubicle or special place in which to work. These personal 'mini studios' are respected by the other students.

    Argáez takes the kids on field trips where they find inspiration and subjects to paint. Inside the school, they can leaf through art books, read poetry, listen to music or just talk and fool around. Some of the older students include José Carlos Zapata Noh, a contemporary of Argáez who has been at the school for five years. Zapata Noh studies color and human drawing. Twenty-one year old David Muńoz May tried many things before deciding on painting which, he explains, "...Attracts me because I see forms everywhere, on the walls, the ceiling, everywhere." Jose Guadalupe Zapata Uh, 15, won a national prize for painting in 1977, sponsored by secondary schools around the country.

    Marcelino Chan Dzib, 19, has the makings of a first class painter and is on the fast track, according to Argáez. Juan Tamayo Esquivel, also 19 and also a promising student, makes a major effort to be here, bussing in every day from the neighboring village of Dzilam González.

    To date, more than 250 kids have been touched by Casa de Los Artistas. They have had their hearts and minds opened to the visual arts and have, in turn, left their mark on Buctzotz. The Esteban Torres Pacheco, the Eligio Ancona Castillo and the Leopoldo Aguilar Roca primary schools all have original murals painted by the students of Casa—just as some 800 years ago a group of artists came together to paint the narrative mural of the Warrior's Temple at Chichen Itza (a work far different in concept, execution and style from that of the Bonampak murals).

    The mural at Eligio Ancona measures 9 x 3.5 meters. The central design of children sustaining the globe was conceived and executed by Argáez, while the rest of the mural was created by the students. Participating artists included José Guadalupe (a Maya pyramid), David Muńoz (a Chac Mool), Santos (a cottage) and Manuel (coconut palms). The idea of a school for young artists has caught on, and neighboring villages have started similar projects. Temax has young Wilbert Domingo Hoh Cob leading a workshop, and Cansahcab has primary school teacher Paul Soberanis. As for the original Casa de Los Artistas, the future looks good; there are lots of talent and enthusiasm.

    As the sun sets, we join Maestro Argáez, a man for whom at least one of his dreams has come true. "Sometimes I'm amazed by the progress people make, and at other times I'm disappointed. However, you have stay calm, take things as they come; it is important to reflect and meditate on what you are doing, where you are headed. I'm positive that within a few years, Casa de Los Artistas will have given the world at least two or three truly remarkable artists."