A Story Left Untold

Some say, "Better late than never". I say, "All in good time".

When I arrived home from Mexico this past August, I was greeted with the news that my beloved cat had been run over. This truly broke my heart. In addition my house had been put on the market before I left, and reality was setting in. My daughter is still dealing with medical issues, and ... well, I think you get the picture. This blog, has never been used for personal "stuff", however at times it certainly creeps into my art world. I do believe it makes me a better artist for having to experience these "bumps".

Now... there is the need to tell my story of a wonderful trip to Mexico, and seeing Mary's part of the world. What a treat it was!

I arrived in the evening after traveling all day. Beto and Mary picked me up at the airport and took me to have an authentic Mexican cheese enchilada. It was a lovely spot. One that I am told is a favorite of Beto's. I had met Mary before in New York, and it was such fun to be able to see her again. Beto was a bit shy with his English, so Mary was a quick translator. I can only imagine how exhausting that must be.

We arrived at their home. It is quite clean and simple from the outside. Yet when walking through the beautiful wooden door... so very hard to describe. I am not sure why I did not consider taking photos of it. The entry is opened up to two stories, with nine brick domes centered above. Skylights pierce each dome, which lets in gorgeous light. It is an open floor plan, with treasures spread around on each wall. Not cluttered in any way, but warm and full of history. Many stories that were later shared during the visit.

The next morning we went and picked up Elizabeth. She was attending the workshop from San Diego. Mary took us to a lovely breakfast at the Marriott, in San Luis. We did some visiting and then made some plans for the day. It was about this time that we learned that the others attending the workshop were held up in Houston due to a hurricane. They were expected to arrive a day late, so we decided to make the best of our time together. Elizabeth was on a mission to get another pair of $10 jeans. She could not remember where it was she bought them but could visualize the surroundings enough to know where it was not. We did not have street names or store names. Mary kept putting the pieces of the puzzle together and after a thorough search of the various marketplaces in San Luis, we found the storefront. Elizabeth was overjoyed.
This excursion gave me time to pop my head into architectural jewels, and to hear stories of the area, told to us by Mary.

One thing I made note of to Mary and Beto was how clean the city of San Luis is. I saw women mopping the concrete outside of shops and homes. So very far from the image that I have of our Hispanic communities here in SoCA. San Luis shone with pride, even in what would be considered their less than prosperous parts of town. It is a vibrant community, and one certainly worth visiting if you want a true Mexican holiday.

On with the adventure...
We decided to drive to Beto's and Mary's ranch which is where the workshop was to be held. We were able to stock the refrigerator even though Mary and Beto had made numerous trips during the prior weeks preparing for the eight of us. We were exhausted at this point and Mary showed us our rooms and we called it a night. The next day Mary and I headed back to San Luis, did some food shopping, and then met Beto and their son, Beto Jr., at the airport. It isn't very safe to drive at night outside of the city, so they were coming with a second car to help transport the three artists that were arriving.

I don't want to make this post too long...
...so you will have to return, to hear about our first day of painting.