Pocharte

Adieu Califas...

2008-01-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

Our short romp through Califas is over and we must now head East again to San Anton. The good news is that we have a "new" car.

Poopi likes it a lot better than that smashed-in-by-a-deer car.

I've always loved this stretch of road through Camp Pendelton heading south to San Diego. It makes me feel like I'm soaring...leaving the "Orange Curtain" far behind me.

Sissi cat is our co-pilot during the next leg of our journey...

...to Adalberto's, right around the corner from our old house.

We've been jonesing for a California Burrito since moving to Texas. Can you believe they don't have burritos there? Unless u buy them in the frozen section, which is gross since there's also no Trader Joes. Don't get me wrong, we have new tasty dishes to luv in SA -- breakfast tacos, guisada and bar-b-q -- but the comfort foods of childhood will always tug at our heartstrings.

Payan places a mega order of California Burritos, Carne Asada Fries, and Taquitos...mmmm!

I've found that taquitos en San Diego are unique. They're basically a mound of lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and sour creme over 3 or 4 crispy corn flautas. It's like getting a yummy treat at the bottom of a salad. How's that for motivation? ;-)

So now we head back to our charming Texas Chateau, con hearts and tummies filled with California goodness.

The home stretch...

2007-12-26T11:25:00.000-08:00

After driving all day, and missing Christmas with our folks, we finally made it into San Diego close to midnight. It was great see the Coronado Bridge disappearing into the fog of the bay.

For several years, the San Diego bay and its bridge were our daily view from the window. Payan and I have spent many afternoons deep in conversation and joyful reverie here in Golden Hill. Since then, we grown nostalgic for our old neighborhood, with it's 24 hour taco shops, ocean breezes, and sailboats on the horizon.

For the moment, it feels like Home Sweet Home.

Happy Holi-daze!

2007-12-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sissi cat wishes you una Feliz Navidad

Deer is Dead?...sometimes literaly

2007-12-24T23:46:00.000-08:00

Was it dramatic foreshadowing that had warned me against it?

As Payan and I prepared for our holiday road trip to California, I scanned the my fav design site - Apartment Therapy - and saw that they were debating whether the "deer trend" was dead. The NY Times ran a similar article, this time declaring the whole antler thing kaput. Deer was officially Dead.

Then my beloved niece called and asked me to drive her little Honda out to Califas instead of my trusty Jeep Cherokee. I didn't think of it as a dangerous option -- plus I really liked Ashley and wanted to support her escape from muggy Houston for a West Coast Disney internship. She'd flown out the month before and told me how she was shivering now that the cold weather had set in with no car of her own or boots to wear. How could I turn her down?

So Payan and I took 2 extra days trying to pack up her little car with all our gear. Our shiztsu Poopi wasn't happy about the setup.

As a result we headed out much later than we'd planned. I knew we had to make up for lost time if we expected to work my family's annual toy giveaway the morning of the 24th, which we had promised to videotape.

Sissi cat was a trooper and settled into a comfortable position. Victor was exhausted, so I took the first shift on the road heading West. The night caught up to us pretty fast...

...and I began to see the bodies of dead deer all over the road. Driving at a 35-mile-an-hour crawl thru the Texas wilderness took forever. My eyes were anxiously straining for any live animals crossing the road...hour after hour.

Of course, Fate had other plans, and I did hit a deer...even though I swerved to miss it. It was awful. My niece's car was badly damaged. Thankfully, the engine was still running so we scattered some rose petals and said a prayer for the poor deer before continuing on.

I'll spare you the gruesome images and emotional fallout of this sad event. Payan and I were just glad to be alive. As we drove thru New Mexico, we knew we wouldn't make it to the Festival Hall event in time, but were comforted knowing we both had family in Arizona to at least share Noche Buena with.

My sister-in-law Lydia waited up for us with her shiztsu Lina. Poopi was relieved to be on solid ground when we arrived.

Christmas Eve this year for us was people and not a geographical location. We had some hot toddies, recharged and gave thanks for the best Christmas blessing of them all...health y familia.

The Most Beautiful Homes of San Antonio 2007

2007-12-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

I know San Antonio is surrounded by acres of multi-million dollar McMansions, but these cookie cutter developments just don't float my boat. I've always harbored a soft spot for older homes with character. Maybe I've watched too many British dramas on PBS or have a secret crush on Bob Villa from "This Old House"?

Antonia's home with the charming turret and green roof

One of the great things about this town is that it has an abundance of historic homes. This isn't the disposable So Cal culture I grew up in, where yesterdays relics are regularly bulldozed in the name of "progress". Aaaand, since the holiday house parties are in full swing, I've been fortunate to receive several invitations to actually visit these gems and see what they look like on the inside.

Antonia y sus admiradoras

First off is Antonia Castañeda's house. She heads a wonderful women's group called MALCS and is one of the brave souls helping to revitalize the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.

It was such a pleasure to see the loving attention to detail displayed throughout Antonia's home.

Everywhere one's gaze fell, there was a beautiful figurine or gorgeous vignette.

I especially loved the modern steel shelves in her traditional kitchen. It gave the whole room a chic and edgy vibe.

Aren't these Mexican tin folk hearts flanking "Que Bonito Amor" ("A Beautiful Love") just precious? And the bathroom terracotta tortoise was also a charming touch.

Later that week, I got to visit the home of Roberta Hassle, a business woman and arts patron who sits on the board of the Martinez Street Women's Center.

Roberta's cool Frida Kahlo nestled among the branches

I love Roberta's Frida glass ornament and her eclectic mix of furniture, especially the divine mid-century dining room ensemble.

Hassle's awesome art collection was an inspiration as well. My New Year's Resolution will be to get more of our artwork properly framed.

This woman has an excellent use of color throughout her home. I luvit!

My final soiree in San Anto for 2007 was at Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark's lovely Woodlawn home. She was kind enough to chat with me a bit after the party about San Antonio gastronomy. Now I know where to get the best torillas. ;-) Plus, I got to explore Ellen's lush courtyard and garden.

A bewitching moonlight walk led me to the glowing embers of a bonfire...

...and a twinkling fairy shrine. Pure magic, from deep in the heart of Tejas.

Mom visits the Alamo City

2007-12-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

Riverwalk illuminated for the holidays

San Antonio is what is known as a "destination city" -- meaning that each year hoards of tourists and convention attendees come out to visit it's many picturesque locals. The Alamo, Sea World, annual Fiesta celebration and the Riverwalk. Since I grew up in Orange County, with a father who worked at Disneyland, I kinda O.D.'d on the whole manufactured "amusement" park experience at an early age. Even now, when my husband wants to drag me out to oohhh and ahhh at a fireworks display, it's hard to pull myself out of my 80 or so memories of Tinkerbell suspended on wires above Disney's Matterhorn, illuminated by pyrotechnics. Then as now I just want to put my hands over my ears and wait for the predictable spectacle to wind down.

Mom and me

My mom doesn't share my jaded sensibilities when it comes to 1st World amusements. She loves the flash and garish spectacle of places like Vegas and Miami. A visit to the annual Riverwalk Lighting Ceremony was definately in order. It was mom's first night in the Alamo City, so we braved the traffic and crowds to share a slice of wholesome and silly X-Mas fun.

Amidst a blaring rendition of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" featuring a boatload of tweeny future Texas pagent queens...

...and costumed holiday soldiers, we did our duty as San Antonio tourguides to dear Mamaw. She loved it. A lifetime of Bolivia's muted earthtone palette with pretty llamas wandering afoot and condors soaring above has given her the abilty to appreciate these "plastic" pleasures. I of course having grown up in the shadow of the Mouse house, always yern for wilderness and ecological splendor. We're a bit of yin & yang mother daughter pair. It amuses Payan tremendously.

Mom loves Rosario's cactus tuna margarita

Thankfully, we're both fans of good food and my favorite spot for dining out is currently Rosario's on the edge of King William and Southtown. I like to head over on weeknights, before the loud salsa band starts playing. Maybe I'm becoming a bit of a grump in my old age, but I like heartfelt conversation at dinner, as opposed to clublike yelling over loud music. Rosario's salsa is to die for and their cactus tuna margaritas are as potent as they are tasty. Everything on the menu is fresh and flavorful.

Martha and Pocha at the swank Tower bar

We topped off the week with a visit to San Antonio's "space needle" - the Tower of the Americas. Since the terrain here is flat, I often long for the kind of perspective being up high gives you. In LA I used to love driving up to the Griffith Observatory and taking in the breathtaking view.

Thankfully Texas' tower bar -- glamourous, plush and serving a generous array of cocktails -- is a great alternative for my Griffith park nostalgia. Mom had the hot chocolate and I savoured a yummy pomogranate creation. Mi madre totally enjoyed her stay deep in the heart of Tejas.

San Antonio Peace Market

2007-11-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

I was kind of sad that we wouldn't be participating in this year's Puente Hacia La Esperanza Anti-Mall craft sale, put on by those lovely Caracol folks. It's always been a treat to see all the familiar faces and reconnect with our gente in LA over the holidays. Ni modo, we're "Tejanos" now and are branching out into a new community. Thankfully, the folks at the Esperanza host a pretty badass event called the Peace Market. Yay!

Virgen earrings

I've been working on some cute religious theme jewelry and want to share it with the world. Each item features gold or silver plated findings, semi-precious stones and delicately detailed catholic medals. Some even have genuine coffee beans on them! It's been suuuper fun making these.

Scapular Earrings

Check out my Etsy to order online - http://www.pocharte.etsy.com. I promise to post items on this new etsy page soon!

"Crown of Mexico" pillow featuring Maximillian and Carlota

The Peace Market just wrapped today, so I'm kinda wiped out as I write this. 30 of my 32 pillows sold! First to go were my Hapsburg Family portraits. I hadn't realized that there's lotsa German folk here in San Antonio. Dass good ;-)

The mexi-pop back of the "Crown of Mexico" pillow

We got to connect with a whole new crowd and actually ran into a few folks we've met before. Payan's Keep on Crossin' gear proved quite the hit. Thank you San Antonio!

Keep on Crossin' fan

Spirits Rising: A Tribute to Raul R. Salinas

2007-11-18T23:04:00.000-08:00

Poet, Writer, Activist - Raul R. Salinas

Tonight Payan put together a wonderful tribute and fundraiser for Austin poet Raul R. Salinas. He's been very ill this past year and unable to keep up his public appearance schedule. As a result, Raul's independently owned bookstore and publishing house have fallen on hard times.

Payan, Salinas y Pocha

I first met Salinas a few years ago while attending the NALAC Leadership Institute in San Antonio. He came out to do a poetry reading and blew my mind with his gentle presence and powerful imagery. Hanging out with Raul afterward he revealed a joyful spirit and wicked sense of humor.

Payan passes over several thousand dollars in donations

It's an honor to help Raul keep his dream alive, and a joy to see so many good people come together in celebrating his work. The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center was the location for this night's event which drew a sizable crowd.

Salinas y su artistic familia

The best part of the evening was seeing Raul connect with everyone. He was smiling like a little kid! After all the pain and toxicidy of his treatments, it was good to have his spirit uplifted. Salinas wasn't able to perform his poetry of liberation this evening, but we captured a performance earlier in the year at Ruta Maya coffee house. Check out "Hail Pachuco" below...

Day of the Dead 2007

2007-11-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

Pocha's 2007 Altar

As a child, Halloween was always one of my faaavorite holidays -- then I discovered "Day of the Dead" while at college and embraced it. I was overjoyed that there existed a tradition where I could "visit" with my dead ancestors, celebrate life and put forth postive intention for the coming year. It was like Easter, Thanksgiving and New Year all rolled into one -- eerily comforting, centering and enlightening!

A cigarette, tea and coffee for our Muertitos

I grew up watching my maternal grandmother pull out her rosary every Monday and sit down before her home-made altar, always filled with fresh flowers, fading photos and religious icons. I would hear her speaking in quiet Aymara, her speech puctuated by familiar names...my grandfather, aunts and uncles. She would even call upon my father's family and ask that they watch over me. I asked her why she would do this and she said it was a Bolivian tradition to remember and honor your dead on Mondays.

Day of the Dead bread

One year I made my dad drive all over Tijuana searching for Day of the Dead bread only to be greated by amused and patronizing comments about how these superstitions were only practiced by indians in the countryside. That was over two decades ago! Now Day of the Dead is a chic and popular annual event. I even wrote about it for Tu Cuidad magazine.

Victor Payan Sr. - R.I.P

It's been fun over the years to use this day to reconnect with the memories of those who have passed on. I set up their photos (or in this year of moving out of state, their names written on paper), flowers and offerings -- tell them all about my year and what I hope to achieve in the next one. I play music for them, brew them coffee and scatter marigold petals to guide their way. Since I'm a newlywed, this was the first year I included images from my husband's family. His dead are now my dead.

Lanterns made by San Anto students and staff

This was also the first Day of the Dead we celebrated with the San Antonio Arts Community, where we participated in San Anto's annual procession. "El Dia de Los Muertos" is now a poetic tradition in the heart of the Westside.

SA's most glamorous muertos

Of course, altars these days aren't limited to family anymore. It's typical to see heros and rock stars illuminated in the night.

Joe Strummer - R.I.P.

Our video students even screened a sweet version of our delightful autumn short "Trick or Tweet" for the occasion.

Still from "Trick or Tweet"

Its a story about a witchy mom and what she does to her daughter's boyfriends. Southern Gothic at its best, and made with a crew of four 15 year olds, two instructors and a parent! Check it out below and have a happy Day of the Dead!

A taste of California...en Tejas

2007-10-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Karlos Paez of the B-Side Players

I was driving up Brazos the other day on my way to pick up Payan at NALAC. As I passed the once famous and now infamous Guadalupe Theater I see this guy with long dreadlocks standing outside. My eyes snap quickly to the marquis which reads "Tonite! B-Sides". Amidst our worldwind of projects, it had completely slipped my mind that we have a rockin' San Diego band in town!

Returning with Victor, we jump out of the car and head to their lead, Karlos Paez, who gives us a big bear hug. The B-Side Players were one of the most pivotal bands in ending our 7 year boycott of the Centro Cultural de La Raza in San Diego when they refused to cross the community's picket line. Like the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, the Centro Cultural de La Raza in SD fell out with their community which resulted in a nation-wide boycott of the institution. More info can be found at www.saveourcentro.org. In a nutshell, Karlos (along with many other artists who held the line) kept reminding the administration of the issues at play behind the community's outrage -- corporate-style secrecy, perceived conflict of interest, destruction of art, and an overall "vendido" like stance from some of it's members.

Still from Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez

For those of u who don't know the lingo, a "vendido" is a "sellout" -- an insecure, status concious Latino that gets all judgemental about certain aspects of their culture...usually the lowbrow parts. A great theater piece by Luis Valdez was written on the subject called Los Vendidos which was later broadcast nationally on the NBC network in the 70's. The play is HILARIOUS and I'll have to upload it onto Youtube sometime. Yeah, I dubbed myself a copy of it while working at an archive that later went down in "flames" -- the problematic NLCC. Like the Centro, and the Guadalupe, The NLCC - National Latino Communications Center - sounded great on paper, but in practice broke the trust of an entire community.

Giant candle commissioned by Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center costing over $300,000 that nearly bankrupt the organization

I know times were harsh for Latinos in the 60's/70's. Like Black Americans, our gente struggled for civil rights and dignity. In my native Orange County, Latinos weren't even allowed to buy property outside of Santa Ana until 1972! Things were a LOT worse in other states like Texas. Beatings for speaking spanish were common and institutional race descrimination ruled daily. It's no wonder these folks grew up all tripped out by their cultura. This unease and desire for "an assimilation utopia" that didn't really exist (the neurosis u pay is too high to bring a lasting peace) was passed on to their kids and taaa daaah -- a new generation of internally conflicted quasi-vendidos was born! These often well meaning folks went on to come of age in the "decade of the Hispanic" the lame-ass brain fart of the Reagan era 80's which further scrambled their brains. Once they bought the bullshit of "corporate america" -- watch The Corporation and read the book -- and applied it to their local cultural organizations (the heart and soul of our cultura)...the result was ENORMOUS dysfuncion of heartbreaking proportions.

B-Sides rockin' the Guadalupe

Now that things have settled down in San Diego and the boycott has ended on the Centro, it was nice to take some time out to celebrate the new spirit of things to come. We left town the day after announcing the boycott's end at Chicano Park Day and didn't really get a chance to savour the victory. Hearing the B-Sides' music brought all the emotions back. Their call to action and "revolution" infected the still weakened hall of the Guadalupe, infusing it with strength and the ganas to make this organization whole again. It was an hechizo and a musical blessing decending on us all...

** To watch their video, visit www.bsideplayers.com ** or befriend them on Myspace - http://myspace.com/bsideplayers **

Karlos channels the SPIRIT!

Sew...like the wind

2007-10-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Amalia of Brazil, Max's tragic first love

I've been buzzing away these days. Gettin' buzzed, oh yeah...on my sewing machine. Vic is in Austin attending the www.namac.org conference where he's gearing up to make a "24 Hour Film" with our video students. That leaves me ample time to sew uninterrupted, so I've spread my projects all thru the house.

Adelita pillow

Peeking out from the piles of fabric and poly-stuffing are little gems of this pocha's arte. I'm wondering if I'll be able to make the DIY Factory this weekend. I registered while we were making our "48-Hour Film" for the 48-Hour Film Project with our San Anto students -- Team i-Chingao! With four teenagers and 3 adults sprawled out all over our ground floor, that was a creative tornado that took weeks of clean up to recover from. We won 2 awards tho. Not bad for a pair of sleep-deprived instructors, 4 fifteen year olds and 1 dedicated parent -- gracias Sandra! To view the flick on youtube, CLICKHERE. I keep sewing and wonder how long the cleanup from this textile tornado will take? ;-p

Running thru my fevered mind on these marathon sewing sessions...fabric...film...fabric...film.

Enamorada Pillow

You'll see from my etsy descriptions that some of these pieces are cinematically inspired -- www.pocharte.etsy.com

Images from the Mexican Revolution and Crown of Mexico art pillow series

I'll have to cut out and head to work soon. I run an after school arts & culture program on the Eastside and we have our open house this weekend. The same day as the DIY Factory! I don't know how I'm going to manage with all this sleep deprivation, an exhausted partner and my own hacking cough (which has returned with all the stress). But I'll keep going as long as I can. I will sew...sew like the wind!

Mexican Revolution pillows

Que viva la revolution!

San Anto's biggest huevos...

2007-10-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we attended our first Huevos Rancheros Gala. Huevos is San Anto Cultural Arts -- www.sananto.org -- big annual fundraiser which honors local activists in San Antonio. Their invite reads..

"Many years ago, before borders were invented...there lived a proud people known as Hueveros, people who celebrated the egg -- the egg as the symbol for all acts of creation, especially artistic creation. The Hueveros were known far and wide for their art, their resourcefulness, and the artistic materials they produced from eggs...(they) were also known for their festive creativity. Each year the Hueveros held a celebration in honor of the egg and to express their caring for each other. A feast of huevos rancheros was served to everyone and cascarones with yellow and white confetti made the event lively..."

And so this year, San Anto Cultural Arts crowned artist Cruz Ortiz and activist Patti Radle as King and Queen Huevo.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

A candid moment with egg-static royalty...

...who makes sum intense and playful art...

...and exhibits thru-out the land!

Payan bidding on a piece...

...from Chikle, a fellow San Diegan.

San Anto's Christina enjoys a bite of eggy goodness...

...and San Anto co-founder, Manuel Castillo, celebrates with his mom.

Amidst all my recent sewing on the new line, spending a day beneath San Antonio's gorgeous pouffy clouds and turquoise blue skys was a welcome interlude.

Puro Westside!

MacArturos wrap up

2007-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

A dozen new friends and 100 conversations later, the MacArturos wrapped up last night with power-packed performance led by prankster Guillermo Gomez-Peña. We caught up with news and talked about the new "fall of Rome" and shared stimulating perspectives on immigration.

Borders of mind and spirit were crossed.

Are they coming to get us? Will Aztlan survive zuvulla?

Baldemar Velasquez is an activist who lives the gospel every day

I was inspired by Baldemar Velasquez, a "liberation theologian" who advocates for farm labor rights. To find a christian who isn't issuing pop culture judgements or condeming "backsliders" is refreshing and energizing. Baldemar inhabits his beliefs in the field and lives in the spirit.

Hugo Morales connects communities thru internet radio broadcasts

I totally cried when heard Hugo's moving transmissions from rural indiginous communities. It reminded me of childhood holidays in South America, everyone crowding around the 1 radio operator's shop in Quime. It was a meeting place, mail drop, science hub. I used to love seeing the operator crank thru his signal thru the Andes, linking us up with the whole world. With upcoming radio-band expansion offering dynamic opportunities for cultural connections. McLuhan's global village is here now...and it speaks in Aymara, Zapotec, Nahuatl, Mixtec, and Maya.

MacArturo creator and event hostess, writer Sandra Cisneros

One of my highlights of course was meeting la gran dama herself, Sandra Cisneros. I still remember seeing the 1st volumes of "House on Mango Street" arrive at my high school bookstore job. I hadn't seen anything Latino at work that wasn't Neruda or Paz. I remember reading her bio, "Sandra is nobody's wife, mother..." -- wow! It empowered my youthful persuit of autonomy. We see so much of her now in the flesh -- at two years of MacArturo events, exhibitions, etc. She's all bright charisma and charming sillyness. I wonder who her upholsterer is?

San Antonio conjunto-punk maestros, Piñata Protest

Forging a solid intro to the closing nite event, Piñata Protest were a cathartic interlude. Their innovative sound even awoke the dead -- as several of their pics were littered with pulsating orbs. Such sweet guys too. My students Sarai and Jessica literally "danced in the aisles" during one of their songs with total effervescent abandon. Good to see the spirit alive and thriving!

Gomez-Peña as cultural shaman

Dressed to the nines, GP channels the border in bikerboots and high heels.

Playwrite Maricella goes drag king on us.

And La Chata spins local chisme into a hilarious number.

Thanks to genus Luis Alfaro, I learned an interesting trick involving Alka Seltzer and a Condom. Impressive!

All in all, a fabulous event. Aaand yes, folks did come over and I had a goood coffee table ;-j

Salud!

The "Crown of Mexico" series

2007-10-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Vintage "photo" of Virgen de Guadalupe appearing to Maximilian and Carlota

Some of you may be familiar with the story of Maximilian and Carlota, the former Emperor and Empress of Mexico. Amidst all the MacArturo madness swirling around me, I'm carving out time to collect images of this hapless pair of Hapsburgs for some new photo-textiles I'm making. The DIY Factory craft fair is coming up on October 20th and I have a whole new line to crank out. To see some of my past textile work, visit www.myspace.com/craftcartel.

Hapsburg Family Portrait - Standing (left to right): Emperor Franz Josef, Archduke Maximilian, Archduchess Charlotte (Carlota), Archduke Ludwig Victor and Archduke Karl Ludwig. Seated (left to right): Empress Elizabeth with Crown prince Rudolf, Archduchess Gisela, Dowager Duchess Sophie and Archduke Franz Karl

This familia's true life adventures rival any telenovela. Seriously, I'm going to have to write a some screenplays about them. In a nutshell, this portion of my tale will deal with Franz, Max and his wife Carlota...

Eldest son Franz Joseph wasn't content to swipe his brother Max's future wife, Bavarian princess Elizabeth (better known as "Sisi"), he wanted him out of the picture altogether. Maximilian was more popular and handsomer than his powerful older brother and his presence in Austria was a threat. It didn't help that Sisi took Max on private 3 month voyage to Greece (as he was the head of the Royal Austrian Navy...and probably a navigator of the romantic kind). As a result, Max and his new bride, Carlota, moved to Miramar Castle in Triest, Italy, where he fell into a deep depression. Frustrated to be a mere Archduke without a country, and secretly mourning the death of his true love (and former fiancee), Princess Maria Amalia of Brazil, Max was miserable. Mientras tanto, the newlywed Carlota wanted desperately to win her husband's love and bring him joy.

Mexican Delegation to Maximillian

When Carlota heard that Napoleon III was looking for someone to govern Mexico, she got in touch with his wife Eugenie. She was told that the Mexican people were unhappy with Benito Juarez and his rogue regime, that they needed a champion to bring order to the post-revolutionary nation. Napoleon could name Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico and she would be it's empress. It sounded too good to be true! So on October 1863, Yucatan lawyer José Maria Gutiérrez went to see Maximilian describing Mexico as a "budding plant entitled to a place in the sun" and called on him to be the country's "redeemer." Max accepted. Thus the Archduke became the "Archdupe."

Maximilian with Map of Mexico

Maximilian and Carlota docked at Veracruz May 28, 1864 with a full retinue of French troops. It was the beginning of a long spiral downward. The majority of the Mexican population didn't want them. The revolution turned out to be far more successful than they had been told and very few wanted a monarchy or the Catholic Church back in power. Maximilian and the French Army fought Benito Juarez until the battle of "Cinco de Mayo." That was when Napoleon decided to cut his losses and withdraw most of the troops leaving Max & Carlota to fend for themselves.

Empress Carlota

Max fell into another deep depression and retreated to his palace in Cuernavaca where he found love with an indian mistress, smoked weed, binged on psycotropic drugs and partied 'round the clock with his buddies. He blamed the whole misadventure on Carlota and wanted nothing to do with her.

Desperate to win him back, Carlota decided to visit Napoleon III and her comadre Eugenie herself. She abruptly ended her tour of Mexico (where she was disturbed to hear lyrics to a song titled "Adios Mama Carlota") and set off for the port of Veracruz. Somewhere along the journey, she is rumoured to have been fed some magic mushrooms and had a drug-hazed affair with a Belgian officer in Maximilian's army, Colonel Alfred van der Smissens. Carlota was probably pregnant and rapidly losing her mind when she embarked on a ship to Europe. After making a scene at Napoleon's house, she set out for Rome and begged the Pope to save her. Feeling that everyone was trying to poison her, she refused to leave the Vatican and slept in the library. To this day, she's the only woman to have offically spent the night there.

Maximilian consoles his priest confessor before he is executed

While Carlota was gone, the situation got dismally worse for Maximilian. He was taken into custody and put to death. Max's last request was that his body not be mutilated so that his mother in Austria could take comfort in seeing his face before burial. Someone gauged his eyeballs out anyway. They also paraded his gunshot strewn shirt thru the streets.

A dead Maximilian on display

Needless to say, hearing that Max was dead hurled Carlota further over the edge. She was locked up at her former home Miramar until some Belgian relatives took pity on her. Carlota died crazy, old and single...totally guilt-ridden about everything that had happened. Some say that her illigitamate son, General Maxime Weygand, surrendered the French armies to Hitler in 1940. The whole ordeal left a sad yet strangely fascinating legacy.

So as a Mexican/American/Bolivian artist, I had to do something with these strange "memories" of our culture. By putting them on comforting pieces of cotton and stitching complementary patchwork designs, maybe the story will survive in the popular mind. The tragic poetry of this tale is too seductive to resist!

Dead heros and anti-heros will always have a special place in the heart of our collective unconscious...

A dead Che Guevara on display

The MacArturos are coming to town, and I need a coffee table...

2007-10-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

The MacArthur "Genius" Award is mysterious and much coveted honor. Who wouldn't want an award where you're surprised by a morning phone call announcing you've won $500,000 with no strings attached? Each year about a dozen Americans are thus honored -- the result of a secret selection process.

One of these MacArthur winners, the writer Sandra Cisneros, decided that she would host a reunion for the Latino "MacArturos." That was 10 years ago, and this weekend 18 Latino Geniuses will gather again in San Antonio for a series of lectures and workshops. My hometown hero, Ruben Martinez, will fly in along with my long lost friend, playwrite Luis Alfaro and art star Guillermo Gomez-Peña. What a meeting of the minds!

Given our arts & culture work, it's inevitable that one of these nights some "geniuses" will head over to our pad for drinks and conversation. I'm already feeling a bit ashamed about our shabby couch -- an early 60's classic sectional in bad need of reupholstering -- but what truly concerned me was our lack of a coffee table. There's this gaping hole in the center of our lovely parlour where an elegant mesa should go.

So I set off, determined to track down the puurrfect piece. My previous weeks online yielded nothing interesting. Since I'm not a fan of Ikea-type pasteboard and wanted something with character, the antique shops of San Antonio were my last hope...

The storefronts on Hildebrant offered pieces worthy...

....of a Holly Hobby dollhouse.

Funky shops on South Flores yeilded over-tha-top glamour.

Was it "Hollywood Regency" or a Hollywood Trainwreck?

And the offerings at the antique warehouse on Broadway...

....were mind-numbingly dull.

I finally wandered into a cute spot run by an earthy Latina named Dora...
...and found the gem I'd been looking for.

A perfect fit!

Now we're ready ;-) Amazing how a little home fine-tuning can feel sooo good.

Milk Crates

2007-10-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Milk Crate stools featured on www.treehugger.com

While visiting San Antonio last year, and teaching a youth video course, my wandering eye was enchanted by the many lovely homes there. The prices I found were just as appealing. I persueded my then boyfriend Victor to consider purchasing one these chateaus. He expressed the usual uneasiness about committing to a 30 year mortgage and concern about moving costs, furnishings, etc.

"It won't cost much more than were paying in rent now. We'll use milkcrates as furniture!" I pledged. And I meant it.

Years before, while living in a Downtown LA loft, a resourceful friend of mine had moved into a tiny room above Al's Bar. It was a temporary dwelling, bridging the gap between baby-daddy farewells and a dazzling new life in Hawaii. Nicole put her gorgeous furnishings into storage and vowed to use only milkcrates in her new home. I was amazed to see the ingenious ways she constructed these items...making floor to ceiling shelving, tables, chairs...everything out of milkcrates!

But when Victor & I arrived in Texas, we found that only 2 of our crates had survived the journey, so all hopes of creating a milkcrate wonderland were tossed out the window. I had to use more "conventional" furniture...and so began the hunt.

I researched for weeks, in shops and various sites online. After aquiring a reasonably priced selection -- see my Flikr account for details http://www.flickr.com/photos/pocharte/ -- I signed up for an on-line interior design "support group" to further refine my vision on www.apartmenttherapy.com

Of course Victor was not amused. "What happened to 'we'll use milkcrates'?" he lamented as each giant box arrived. But finally accepting the inevitable, even Payan had to admire my selections.

Thus began my burning desire to round out the collection. A coffee table quest is in the works...

Imagineering a good beginning...

2007-09-30T01:24:00.000-07:00

Dos arbolitos...

In keeping with my birthday month resolutions, I promised myself I'd finally leave the familiar confines of Myspace and enter into blogland. I also need a more "intimate" forum to keep in in touch with our vast circle of family and friends. A ver si funciona.

I'm a newlywed, in the process of settling into our 1st home out of state -- beginning a journey that will surely include children, challenges and my branching out into many new territories. Settling in has been an intense endevour, and an illuminating one. My goal is to keep serenity & comfort present in our lives, even amidst the increasing demands on our time. My husband and I each manage at least 4 personal projects simultaniously. In addition to these, I'm busy organizing the home front, making resourceful furnishing choices, and imagineering our first "official" housewarming soiree.

To that end, we've embarked in an online experiment -- www.apartmenttherapy.com -- an 8 week "home cure", which will kick our butts in gear to fine-tune our living space -- our "second skin" and extension of ourselves. Domestic Bliss (and Feng Shui glory) is surely at hand!