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New Arts and Crafts Venue on Ensenada’s Waterfront
By Melanie Lamaga
www.willowriverstudio.com
As a recent transplant to Baja California, I am still learning about the many cultural attractions that this region has to offer. Therefore, I was delighted to discover the new Feria Artesanal (Art and Crafts Fair). It’s happening every Saturday through October, from 10 a.m. – 6p.m at El Centro Artesanal, located one block from Ensenada’s cruise ship terminal, in the charming waterfront district.
This fair features fine art and craft work from indigenous artisans working in traditional styles, as well as some of the area’s best-known contemporary artists. And there’s no admission charge! It’s a perfect Saturday afternoon destination for tourists and locals looking to acquire original art at great prices, or just ready to relax and soak in some Mexican culture.
Seen from the main street (Blvd. Lazaro Cardenas), El Centro Artesanal could almost be mistaken for just another a modest, stucco strip mall. This is because the art galleries fronting the Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas currently share the center with other types of businesses.
However, as you venture through the arched gateway into the sun-drenched courtyard, see its orange-gold stucco walls, tables festooned with the works of dozens of artists, and the performance pavilion rising above it all, you begin to realize that you’ve entered a place that is anything but ordinary.
Add to this equation the tantalizing smell of Mexican food, live performances by different musicians each week, and the friendly smiles of the artists themselves and you may find yourself feeling that you’ve suddenly been transported out of the bustling city to a small- yet-cosmopolitan, pueblo.
Within an hour of arriving on the opening day at Feria Artesanal Art and Crafts, I was thoroughly charmed by the art, music and general ambience (not to mention the tequila tasting). Not only that, I’d been invited by the Centro’s administrator Adalberto Perez Meillon, to come show my own photos.
This fair has an abundant variety: traditional pottery, baskets, weaving, masks, nawatl, embossed tin, handcrafted note cards, folk art, traditional and contemporary jewelry, photographs, sculptures and paintings and more. Many of 
the artists work as they display their wares, and the concentration and intricacy of their craft is a pleasure to watch.
Upcoming performances include a concert from Los Astro Rumberos, who will do two 45-minute shows (May 24). To hear samples of their uber-groovy music visit http://www.myspace.com/losastrorumberos.
Artists participating in the Feria Artesanal include sculptors Enrique Alvarez and Alfonso Arambula, photographers Antonio Martinez, Octavio Meillon and Jose Angel Sanchez, handbag designer Gina Gomez, jewelry designers Cristina Rendon, Galia Bitterlin and Gilberto Romero, painters Sue McDevitt, Gloria Leticia Gonzalez, Diana Dominguez, Andre Satie and Adalberto Perez Meillon, Zapotec loom weaver Alberto Cruz, tin relief artist Juan Rolando Agundez, basket weaver Maria de La Trinidad, folk artist Jose Escobar, as well as Pai Pai potters, Kumiai basket weavers, Mata Ortiz pottery, weavers from Oaxaca, Sonoran masks and other traditional crafts from the gallery “Artesnia del Desierto,” and masks and handmade papel amate notebooks from “Bazar Casa Ramirez.”
The organizer, Adalberto Perez Meillon, has had his gallery at the Centro Artesanal since 1988, the year after it was inaugurated. He envisions the Feria Artesanal as a growing showcase for Mexican fine arts and crafts, in an environment of fiesta that includes music, food, drinks and performing arts. With this, he says we can “project Mexican culture to the world… (promoting) traditions, history, love and understanding between the visitors and us.”
If you would like more information about the fair, or if you are an artist, crafter or performing artist who would like to participate, contact Adalberto Perez Meillon at (646) 175-7848 (Mx)
Ensenada Art Fair Contact Information
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