San Jose del Cabo - Artists, Artisans and Appetites

In recent posts I have referred to the sister city of Cabo San Lucas as "San Jose."  Actually, the proper name is San Jose del Cabo but the shorter name is a whole lot easier for my fingers so, without wishing to shortchange or offend anyone, I'll use the short version if that's OK.  Whatever name you use, there is one thing you can know for sure - it's a GREAT city to visit.  We mentioned that Cabo San Lucas is at the tip of the Baja peninsula.  San Jose  is located not far to the east and is the site of the airport serving Los Cabos.  The population of San Jose is just over 69,000, placing it slightly ahead of Cabo San Lucas but in many (if not most) ways it has the feel of a much more intimate, quaint town than it's little sister.  The downtown area is remarkable for many things, not the least of which is the fountain that runs for a full block down the main street, Blvd. Mijares.  The buildings seem to be more "traditional" Mexican construction and there are art galleries, craft shops, jewelry stores, restaurants and bodegas everywhere.  As we have mentioned before, it was mid-December when we were there and as you could expect in a country that is devoutly Catholic, signs of the season were very prevalent.  In fact, when we asked people about where the "art gallery crawl" was to begin they kept sending us to the central plaza.  Turns out there is some kind of event going on almost every night there and on the evening of our visit there was to be a major dance competition related to the Christmas season.  We didn't get to see that - but we did finally find where the gallery tour was to begin  The downtown area is really interesting in that the civic pride is so evident.  It is demonstrated in the sculpture, the signs and pictures  - and particularly, in the displays of famous events from the significant eras of Mexican history.  Clearly, they view their revolution and the resulting creation of their nation much the same way we do in our country.  Another thing that is not so readily apparent - but is everywhere when you look carefully - is the influence of the ancient cultures that played such a key role in the creation of the Mexican society, the indigenous populations.  In fact, the picture  below shows a ceramic tile mosaic depicting one of the most significant events in the history of San Jose.  If you click on the picture I think it will expand so you can get a better look at what it shows.  When you do you will see a scene that is anything but "pastoral." It shows Indians dragging off a Priest who has evidently rubbed the local folks the wrong way.  Turns out the Indian men were in substantial disagreement with the clergy about how many wives one could have, when (or if) you had to wear trousers and a number of other pesky social issues. (Sounds kinda like the things we're still dealing with!!!)    But, those early bearers of the Christian word were nothing if not indomitable and the church persisted and prevailed in the establishment of "civilized" communities in the lower Baja.  So in 1730, two years before the birth of our beloved George Washington, San Jose was established as a community.  The area had long been an important spot, however, due to the presence of a natural oasis that flowed into the harbor via the river that came to be known as Rio San Jose.  

Maybe I'm just a sentimental kinda guy but I think it's neat that Saint Joseph was so much in the minds of the early settlers of this area.  I mean I know he's the patron saint of the Catholic church, but I find it warmly ironic that he's also the patron saint of working men and women.  I guess I got a bit ahead of myself and forgot to say that all of this can be found at the Cathedral of San Jose del Cabo, the beautiful structure that serves as the anchor point for the central plaza of the city.  It is a gorgeous building and the interior is something to see.  We entered and spent a few minutes in quiet meditation - expressing our thanks for the opportunity to be in this beautiful, welcoming community.  Interestingly, as we sat there, the music playing was something that touched us very personally and deeply.  It was music used by the religious community in Taize', France, the community founded by Brother Roger (Roger Louis Shutz Marsauche) in 1940.  Without getting too "side-tracked" let me say that the reason the music is so meaningful to us is that Brother Roger's primary message throughout his life was that we - people, churches, governments, schools - waste too much time trying to point out the things that make us different.  He chose to look for those ways in which we are similar; ways that make us brothers and sisters in spirit and in reality.  Anyway - so much history and so much philosophy makes one quite hungry so we set out to find a place for a great meal - and we found it!!!  The Tropicana Inn and Restaurant located right across the street on Blvd. Mijares.  Our  meal was excellent and we were soon ready to head out for a visit with the artists.  I know I've gotten a bit long-winded so I won't spend too much time talking about the galleries we visited - but - we made it most of them!!!  The fact that most of them were serving wine and hors d'oeuvres didn't exactly drive us away!!!  The art crawl was truly delightful and not only were the artists, sculptors and jewelers highly skillful they were, for the most part, very personable and enjoyable people to visit.  There are some really beautiful things to be found there and I really encourage you to visit if you are ever in the area.  You won't be sorry.

As we were leaving our last stop for the evening we stepped into the street and found almost everyone outside standing with their faces turned to the sky.  Their rapt expressions let you know they were seeing something special.  We looked and it was almost as if a voice was saying ...  "Ya wanta see art??? Take a look at this!!!  And we did.


 

So - with a look at the home of one of the artists, we'll leave San Jose.  But, there is more to come so, hopefully we'll see you back here in a bit.  See ya.