The Feria is a community

by Marianne Carlson, Founder

 

The Feria is a community and sometimes we need to remember that we have just as much impact on the artisans who come to our community as they do on us. 

 

Recently Feria Board member, Donna Williams, received a letter from Margaret Ancira who had been traveling in Oaxaca and met a black-pottery artisan whose work she admired. Her note touched our hearts. 

 

When the artisan found out she was from Ajijic, he started telling her how much the Feria meant to him and that it was something he would never forget. She said, "His face lit up and his eyes watered at the same time. His entire face gleamed as he told me of those days he spent here.”

When she asked him if the Feria was a good one for him, he told her they had sold every piece the family had brought. She said the man was, “eloquent in his gratitude to his host family.  He told me over and over how kind they were to his family...how they took them around the area to see the sights and fed them so well.”

I was particularly interested when she said he told her about how the Feria and his trip had affected his work and his family. He said he was more dedicated to helping his children be successful and teaching them be more serious about the business and to know that hard work brings the pleasures and rewards of life. 

 

Margaret told us, "I want you to know that Feria Maestros del Arte makes a difference to the vendor participants.  Not just monetarily but it also expands their world view. He really loved his time here, being with us NOB folks, and living the Ajijic life.  He was so grateful for all of it."

 

Margaret's note reminded me of how impactful every aspect of the Feria can be to the artisans who travel here to become part of the community we now call the Feria. Their lives are touched in so many ways we never even know about. Thank you so much, Margaret, for sharing your experience