In the Montessori approach to education, children exposed to sensorial activities and materials develop heightened senses of touch, taste, sight, sound and smell, potentially awakening unexpected talents and opening doors to careers their parents might never have imagined for them.
For seven-year-old Pedro Díaz, such an awakening took place simply because he wandered into a workshop that happened to be located across the street from his home.
It was 1941 when the boy began hanging around the taller of Francisco Navarro, who cut rock from a nearby quarry and sculpted headstones, crosses and vases for the local cemetery of Ahualulco de Mercado, located 60 kilometers west of Guadalajara.
This rock, cantera stone, is composed of calcite materials that formed millions of years ago through extreme heat and pressure. It is the stone of elegant haciendas: porous, lightweight and beautiful … and also easy to carve.
One day Francisco noticed how closely Pedro was watching him.
“You like this kind of work?” he asked the boy.
“Sí, sí!” replied Pedro enthusiastically.
“Okay,” said the sculptor and he gave the boy his first chisel. From that day on, Pedro was his apprentice.
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