Outstanding artisans coming from far flung corners of Mexico will showcase a cornucopia of high-quality handicrafts and folk art at the 18th annual Feria Maestros del Arte, scheduled Friday, November 8 through Sunday, November 10 at Chapala’s Club de Yates, located at the east end of Paseo Ramón Corona.
Shoppers and hard core collectors will be tempted by the huge selection of handmade textiles and clothing, jewelry, ceramics, masks, household furnishings, toys and dolls, and diverse articles made from wood, metal, paper, straw, beads and other materials.
The mission of the Feria is to preserve and promote Mexico’s native art forms, providing craftsmen a venue to sell their works to individual buyers, commercial outfits, galleries and museums. The event supports the livelihoods of hundreds of families, while fostering regional and international awareness to the plight of the nation’s endangered arts.
This year the fair is bringing in 45 new artists from various parts of the country. Among them will be Fernando Cisneros from Concepción de Buenas Aires on the south side of the lake who will demonstrate how he makes his world-famous huaraches on Friday and Saturday. Illustrating the feria’s 2019 theme “Ancient Traditions-New Hands”, Victoria Villaseñor’s granddaughters Adriana Yamilet López Villacente, age 6 and Brisa Janet López Villacente, age 7, will show off their weaving skills.
Also on hand for the first time will be master jeweler Wilibaldo García Tomas from the State of Mexico, guitar makers from Paracho, Michoacán and horsehair craftsmen from Cuyutlán, Jalisco.
The Feria is paying special tribute to its home turf with a Jalisco Pavilion where artists from this state will be concentrated. It will also be the space for tequila tasting on all three days and salsa samplings presented by Agustín of Viva Mexico Restaurant in San Juan Cosalá, at 2:30 p.m. in the Pavilion area.
In addition to browsing the sales booths spread around sprawling fair grounds, visitors will be able attend lectures presented in Tent One, scheduled at 10:30 a.m. all three days and 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The program also features live entertainment, fashion shows and stalls offering an assortment of food and beverages.
Gates open daily at 9:30 a.m. closing at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and an hour earlier on Sunday. The visitor admission fee is 80 pesos. Look for full profiles of the guest artists mexicoartshow.com and additional fair details on Facebook.