She has just three months under her belt as the head of Jalisco’s Secretaría de Cultura, the pivotal state agency that controls the state’s orchestra, choir, some museums and venues such as the Degollado Theater, but already Myriam Vachez has earned a reputation as decisive, affable and, yes, cultured.
The reason, no doubt, is that she brings decades of experience to her high-profile position. And she will need this experience during what everyone agrees are difficult times, as budgets shrink and the whole world seems preoccupied with crime and insecurity at the same time as the arts and education are increasingly recognized as a cultural cement that has a major impact on these stubborn problems.
Vachez is very much in step with this latter viewpoint. Brimming with smiles, she ticks off her list of plans, and the first she names is her department’s institution of a new umbrella group, Ecos, that is geared to support all state musical groups for young people.
“Music has a very positive impact on children’s development,” she asserts. “It is automatic.” She underlines that the program will reach into towns throughout the state, some of which suffer with drug trafficking, gangs and the like.
Vachez brings an exceptional background to her new job, not even including her recent years as cultural chief of the city of Guadalajara (under her boss, former mayor and current governor Aristoteles Sandoval, whom she followed in his leap from municipal to state government). She was educated in France and as a medical doctor in Mexico City. She speaks excellent English and French and served as the honorary French consul in Guadalajara, due to her descent from a French family, the former owners of the upscale department store Fabricas de Francia.Of course, Vachez has already ruffled feathers with some of her decisions — disbanding the state’s relatively new classical and neoclassical dance group and then reconstituting it, transforming a new downtown archeological museum on Calle Zaragoza into a museum of popular culture — but she seems intent on emphasizing the positive, such as the program to develop musical abilities in youth and a program to develop cultural tourism throughout Jalisco, both of which are related to the perceived security crisis.
“There are so many wonderful places in Jalisco. One program is to support the growth of tourism in the the beautiful Valles region, which includes Tequila and Guachimontones. There we are working on the ‘Vias Verdes’ program that puts pedestrian, horse and bike paths and rest areas alongside existing railways. And there are a lot of railways in Jalisco. There’s another such project around Chapala. We want to replicate them throughout the state. This will help with the feelings of insecurity.”
Her department has taken some heat for the amount that is charged for for renting facilities at state-owned performance spaces, including the Degollado Theater and the Auditorio de la Ribera.
“I want to emphasize that the fees have not increased since 2011,” she asserted, explaining that the tabuladora (fee schedule) was set by the state Congress, not her, and that it is meant to recoup only operational expenses.
“Those expenses are high,” she admitted. But she emphasized several determinations her department makes that can affect the rental cost.
“Each case is different,” she said, depending on whether a group is for-profit, whether it requires box office ticket sales, and whether it charges an entry price for an event. In fact, the high number of variables could lead one to conclude that there is a great deal of wiggle room in the final determination, especially with each post-election change of government and personnel.
Speaking of elections, she noted ruefully that “we only started in March and in general the previous government left us debts.”
In addition, the new state government reduced the budget for the Cabañas Cultural Institute, Guadalajara’s premier tourist attraction and the only Jalisco building to be designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. So Vachez has been left with the difficult task of administering an important building with little money.
Another frustrating area has been the search for a new director for the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, a post vacant since Alondra de La Parra left abruptly in January. Questions about the selection process, which has dragged on since De La Parra’s exit despite promises from some quarters of a swift resolution, were referred to the new head of the orchestra’s governing body, the Patronato Filarmonico.
Vachez herself was recently quoted saying, “There is no limited date to look for the best option for our orchestra and state.”
Swinging once again to an optimistic view, Vachez discussed improvements that are in the works to the cultural web page and cultural communiques. For example, there is a new .pdf document that is sent around with the schedule for all state cultural events,. During earlier administrations, such information was notoriously difficult to find.
The department’s address, phone (which frequently rings unanswered) and Vachez’s e-mail are on the web page.
“We are looking for more involvement with cultural businesses,” she said. “If a group wants to produce something, we can probably help, maybe with airline tickets, or absorbing the credit on a loan,” she said. “They should come here to see me and bring a written proposal or synopsis. It doesn’t have to be very long. Of course, I can’t receive everybody, but I will look over the proposal and send it to the appropriate person.
“Artists should also check the web page for invitations [convocatorias] that, for example, offer a scholarship or an invitation,” she urged. “There are a lot of them.”
Secretaría de Cultura de Jalisco, Avenida La Paz 875, near Avenida 16 de Septiembre, Guadalajara. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (33) 3942-1200 ext. 51017, 51026, 51236, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., https://twitter.com/myriamvachezp.