Feria board member Rachel (R.J.) McMillen, was born in England, raised in Australia, and spent three years in Greece before moving to Canada in 1968. After her husband died in 2002, she decided to find a place where she could live happily year-round and not have to follow the sun.
Rachel has a diverse background, stating, "I have always been a writer (freelance journalist, newspaper columnist, poet etc.), I also worked as a grade-school teacher, an ESL teacher, a cook on a mission boat, a computer programmer, a systems analyst, an accountant (sort-of), a store owner and manager and a business consultant. I’m still doing the writing, but I’ve retired from the rest!"
Rachel is the author of the popular “Dan Connor” mystery series published by Touchwood Editions, which includes Dark Moon Walking (2014), Black Tide Rising (2015), Green River Falling (2016) and Gray Sea Running which was released this past spring. Two of her books were nominated for the Arthur Ellis award.
Like many people, Rachel attended a Feria and then fell in love with the art and the artisans and volunteers. She stays involved with the Feria because of its focus on not only helping the artists but also the entire community. One of her fondest memories was the time Juana Gomez, an artisan who makes large jaguar sculptures asked the Feria for assistance in order to rent a truck to bring her work to Chapala. After the Feria, where she sold everything she had brought, she came up to the administration table with her entire family and returned the money as a thank you. Rachel says, "We all wound up crying and I still cry when I think about it.”
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| Alebrije by Enrique Fabián Ortega |
When asked what her favorite type of folk are is, Rachel hesitated and then said, “Alebrijes … but then there’s Catrinas, and the Mata Ortiz pottery, and the pineapples, and the weaving, and the embroidery . . . .”
All the heart that Rachel brings to her writing and to her love of Mexican folk art and its artisans makes her the perfect co-ordinator for volunteers and so many other aspects of the Feria.
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| Catrina by Alvaro de la Cruz |
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