The announcement of the upcoming formal unveiling of a work by acclaimed Mexican sculptor Miguel Miramontes highlighted the progress report given by Centro Cultural de Ajijic (CCA) director Efren Gonzalez during a public meeting held Tuesday, August 13.
Miramontes offered the original plaster model of a work he entitled Los Sobrevivientes (the survivors) as a gift to the pueblo of Ajijic with the caveat that the community kick in to forge the bronge casting. The stunning piece depicts life-size figures of a family escaping a rain storm, conveying the message of the father as the backbone of family unity.
Anxious to take advantage of an incomparable opportunity to acquire a masterpiece for the town, Gonzalez doggedly jumped into raising the 160,000 pesos needed to finish the work. He achieved funding for the task, oversaw the dismantling of the model and its transport to a Guadalajara foundry and now reports the casting is done.Los Sobrevivientes will be permanently installed at the entrance of CCA, with a gala opening celebrating its arrival scheduled for Friday, September 6, 5:30 p.m.
Other points Gonzalez underlined in his presentation of accomplishments during his six-month tenure at the CCA include the ceiling mural painted by Juan Navarro (a project left on hold for more than a decade), the opening of a museum store as a sales outlet for local artists and artisans, the acquisition of a collection of paintings by Steve Klein, and preliminary steps in setting up exchanges with artists in the United States initiated during his recent trips to California, Texas and Michigan.
A principal objective of holding the gathering was to allow open public debate concerning CCA goals and programs, as well as to smooth over frictions related to the director’s management style.
Gonzalez has been under fire from a small segment of Ajijic’s art community since his appointment by mayor Joaquin Huerta last January. Critics claim he lacks a coherent plan of action and gives little attention to programming practical workshops and fomenting diverse cultural activities such as literature, theater and dance while spending time on commercial pursuits and personal travel.
On the other hand, Gonzalez suggested that dissidents attempted to pull off a coup to take over CCA during his recent absence from town. He made it clear that he is not married to his post and is willing to relinquish it in accordance with a general consensus.
The mayor and various other city hall officials who were present confirmed their confidence and backing for Gonzalez, as did many in the audience who called for unity to collaborate in sealing Ajijic’s identity as lakeside’s cultural hub.
Huerta made a special point of clarifying that the structuring of a municipal citizen’s council on culture has yet to be formalized.