February 28, 2011
Poster Art
My awesome designer, Chris St. George, just finished the poster art for The Renaissance of Mata Ortiz. Thanks to photographer Raechel Running!
December 7, 2010
Great News from Mata Ortiz
Diego Valles just won the Premio Nacional de la Juventud 2010. This is the highest award that the Mexican government can give to a young citizen. This is the same award that Juan Quezada won in 1999, except that this award is for young people. A great honor for Diego and a great tribute to the town of Mata Ortiz. Congrats, Diego!!!
pot by Diego Valles (photo: Scott Petersen)
October 15, 2010
2010 Gathering of Friends of Mata Ortiz
.....
Emi Caley and Spencer MacCallum in Mata Ortiz at the Gathering
Chairwoman
and tour guide Diana Acosta
(Agave Lindo Tours)
October
14, 2010
Another
New Mata Ortiz Book
Check out The Magnetism of Mata
Ortiz, a cool new book about
Mata Ortiz and northern Chihuahua. I met one of the
authors, Ron Bridgemon, in Mata Ortiz and he’s filled
with great stories. Get your copy
today.
August 10, 2010
A
New Mata Ortiz Book
It’s been some time
since The Many Faces of Mata
Ortiz and The Miracle of Mata
Ortiz, so I’m happy to report
that a new book about Mata Ortiz is now available. Written
by John V. Bezy and Stuart D. Scott, it’s called
The
Artistry and History of Mata Ortiz and it even features a
photo I took of Spencer MacCallum and Juan Quezada. I just
ordered mine and can’t wait to get it. For more information
about the book, go to: http://www.mataortizartists.com.
August 8, 2010
The
Latest...
I’m almost done! The awesome Patrick Kirst finished the score and
now it’s in the hands of my audio guy,
Bobby Garza, Jr. for sound editing, etc.
I still have to do some assorted technical stuff to do
after that, but it’s very close to being submitted to
festivals. I was engaged in a nasty battle with the
proper way to do the subtitles when Bouke over at
the VideoToolShed came to the rescue with
his SubBits subtitling software.
Thanks, Bouke!
If you know of any cool places (museums, independent
screening facilities, universities) in your town or
anywhere on the planet, please let me know and I’ll drop
them a line. And a big thank you to the people who have
donated to the project. Your generosity is very much
appreciated. Give yourself a big hug!
May 20,
2010
A quick story from Spencer MacCallum.
The
Little Church of Divine Mercy
This is the story of a
little church in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, a small town in
northern Mexico cradled in a rare valley in the Sierra
Madres. Natural springs and the Casas Grandes River
irrigate its fields and orchards. In the
17th century, Spaniards admired
the fertile valley and built the town of Casas Grandes and
a Franciscan mission, San Antonio de Padua de Casas
Grandes.
But in modern times, beginning in 1992, a prolonged drought
struck the region. Unable to make a go of it in the absence
of rainfall, people from the surrounding Sierras migrated
into the valley in search of work, nearly doubling the
population of Casas Grandes. As housing spread west, Padre
Antonio Quezada Valdez saw that the old church in the
middle of town was no longer adequate. Another was needed,
and with it a new church plaza.
Wondering what sort of church to build, Padre Antonio had a
dream. Instead of putting up just another modern structure,
why not replicate the 350-year-old church of the now ruined
Franciscan mission? He would call it El Templo del Señor de
la Divina Misericordia (Temple of the Lord of Divine
Mercy). Little remained of the original church, built in
1663 and destroyed in the Pueblo Indian revolt of 1680. But
its plan was known because a team of archaeologists had
once excavated the mission site.
With a limited budget, Padre Antonio realized that he could
not replicate the original size of the mission church. But
he thought he could accomplish the effect on a slightly
smaller scale. Sadly, the budget did not allow even that.
Construction began in 1999 and continued to where services
could be held, and there the funding ran out. The towers
were left truncated, and no work had been done on the
plaza. And so the church stood for several years, known
only to its parishioners.
Then a miracle began to unfold. In 2004 a local artist,
Gricel Ortiz, who had trained in Italy and painted chapels
there, came home to care for her aged mother. Finding the
little church, she volunteered to cover the entire wall
behind the altar with a mural of the Divine Mercy. At the
focal end of the long nave, with perfect lighting from a
clerestory, the wall offered an ideal space for a major
work of art. Gricel was inspired. She filled the chapel
with classical music as she painted, high on her
scaffolding. Without help, she completed the mural in six
days. Her dream, when the padre could afford to buy
materials, was to paint the whole interior of the church
with a surround mural of clouds, angels, and saints so that
visitors on entering the church would feel they had entered
heaven.
The MacCallums had renovated La Casa del Nopal near the plaza, and a guide for Grand Circle Travel, Teresa Zinser, had begun bringing her tour groups to this historic adobe. During one of these visits, Spencer boarded the bus and guided the group to the little church, explaining its story on the way.
He told the tour group they would see a rare example of Chihuahua’s original style of church architecture, like that of the adobe churches of New Mexico to the north with their long, narrow nave, and he explained that the reason for the narrow nave was that the builders were limited by the trees they had to span it. He told about the mural and explained why the church was unfinished. He said this would not be for all, but if some felt inspired by the beauty they were about to see and wanted to feel a part of the project, he knew the padre would welcome it. As they left the church, he said, he would stand near the entrance with his inverted sombrero for those who freely cared to contribute.
Such was the response that within months, as Teresa continued bringing groups and others joined in, construction on the church resumed, bringing employment to the neighborhood. Within the year, not only were the towers complete, Gricel had paints and materials to carry out her over-all vision for the church.
After installing professional lighting that will effectively illuminate the art work, future plans include offering concerts of string quartet and other kinds of chamber music in this unique setting.
While Gricel prefers anonymity, her art set in motion a miracle for realizing Padre Antonio’s dream. The little church of Divine Mercy in Casas Grandes is without a doubt one of the most interesting and beautiful
religious structures in northern Mexico. Its simplicity and spirituality will inspire many for years to come.
Spencer MacCallum
Casas Grandes, Chihuahua
20 May 2010
