Tlaquepaque Part 2

The first evening we arrived in Tlaquepaque, a suburb of Guadalajara ( I thought it was small, but AAA lists its population as 467,000!) we met a couple from Australia, retired educators who had been teaching in Honduras; a woman who designs and orders Mexican art and furniture for her shop in Reno; and a young woman who works in New York and lives close-by in New Jersey. She has a blog, gonnamakeachange.blogspot.com, about her extensive world travels, her life and philosophy. She and her husband sponsor two girls in Guatemala and have been there as volunteers of an organization, Myan Families, that helps indigenous Mayan people in that Central American country. I hope to stay in touch with her, as her ideals, philosophy and experiences are close to my heart and besides, she's a lot fun.

We all made plans to take a tour the next day, first to Tonalá, famous for its artisans and ceramics/pottery workshops, then on to Tequila, the region of the important ingredient for the Margarita and the agave plant needed to create it. Many of Tequila's distilleries open their doors to tourists and we were looking forward to checking out how the beverage is made and surely taste testing it.

After breakfast five of us hopped in Luis's large car and set off for Tonalá. We first visited the taller or workshop, of the family Ortega, took pictures of the artists in different stages of work on whimsical and creative ceramics. I bought a small rooster, as I'm trying to bring home only what I can carry in my luggage.

Next we traveled to the studio and shop of Salvador Vasquez and his son, famous for bruñido, the delicate burnished clayware that has been featured in international art books for collectors and admirers of traditional art. Again we took pictures, watched the process of transforming clay into works of art and met both Salvadors, senior and junior. The elder Vasquez proudly showed us books and awards that have honored his work. I bought a piece of pottery, but now I notice it is signed by Oscar Vasquez; I probably couldn't afford Salvador Sr.'s work. We were all struck by the simple home of the family, their living quarters and studio. While Vasquez's art is celebrated in museums and books, he hasn't grown rich selling it. Most likely collectors and buyers have purchased his work for a song, as much of Mexico's art is relatively inexpensive, and possibly resold it for a profit. This must be the life of the starving artist who lives his way, not compromising for money or security.

We were finally on the road to Tequila, passing through the very large and modern city of Guadalajara. One of our group mentioned how little traffic there was, the road smooth and welcoming us to our next adventure. And yes, it turned out to be an adventure, as very soon the traffic came to a grinding halt. Gridlock all around, as we could not get out of what felt like a parking lot without exits. We were on Federal Highway 15, the primary north-south highway in Mexico, full of buses, trucks and cars that usually roll along to their destinations. We had no idea of the cause of the sudden standstill and spent hours in the hot car occasionally inching along or waiting to move. The drivers all around us were patient and seemed to take this major inconvenience in stride. An enterprising boy with a bucket of soft drinks took advantage of the long line of cars, selling refreshments to the people trapped in the gridlock and a few cars tried to end their wait by driving over a gully to the other side of the road. Open military trucks with armed soldiers drove by or were in the line with us, their guns posed for any problem, emergency vehicles with sirens sped by and we wondered how long we would be stuck and even how safe we were. A woman in front of us flirted with the men who got out of their cars and later with the policia who finally came to inform us of the reason for the blocked road.

Up ahead, we're not sure how far, a group of sugar cane farmers protested unfair treatment or financial renumeration by the plant. Is this the voice of the people rising up against injustice, an example of workers, agrarian and manufacturing, often uneducated and unable to earn a living at their work, while the next levels of the production line earn high profits? Pablo Freire, the Brazilian educator wrote, "Education is a constant process for the liberation of human beings." He comes to mind, as he worked hard to educate the most impoverished people, those whose human rights are often violated and who are not able to rise up and change their circumstances because of lack of knowledge and power. Education is power.

After about (no watch for me on this trip) two hours the military began redirecting traffic and we finally moved into the lane that would take us back to Tlaquepaque, rather than continue to wait for the highway to open. The next day the local newspaper had a small picture and article, noting that the highway reopened at 6:00 p.m. and the government would begin talks with the people. I thought for sure there would be headlines, but maybe protest that stops normal lives and work is more frequent here, just as in Europe and the UK, where strikes are common and often announced beforehand. No trip to Tequila for us and next time we drink a Margarita, we'll remember July 15, 2008 and the power of the people who completely stopped traffic.