Art Sindlinger: Pottery run to Capula

We visit our artisan partners in Capula 3 - 4 times per year on average. Always around Día de Muertos, to stock up for the Q4 / holiday season. Almost always around Semana Santa, so we can combine it with a visit to the Tianguis in Uruapan. Then depending on the year we'll also head out in January, like we did this year. Some years we also come out in July. This is one of those years.

The first time we came out in July we didn't realize it was a time of local and regional celebration in honor of Santiago Apóstol. I cannot find one specific source online to explain exactly what it is being celebrated, but the tradition goes back hundreds of years as I understand it. And it runs through dozens of small towns across the state of Michoacán. This article features a church in his name in a small town that has been painted by local artisans. Doesn't go deep into the broader tradition, unfortunately, but gives you an idea of the importance and reverence for the patron saint of the region.

One year we were coincindentally driving through a number of these small towns during the celebration and were treated to a series of fireworks, bands in the streets, children riding horses like pros, festivals lined with food stalls, etc. Pretty special to stumble through. Capula puts on a big festival during these days, with the artisans all set up along the main street and a full program of religous ceremonies and celebrations. So if timing allows we coordinate our pottery pick up with the festival de Señor Santiago. Below is a poster we saw at the co-op mercado outlining what to expect this year.

So here we are heading out to Michoacán for our July pick up and, as always, we make our pit stop at the halfway point of Cafe KM 118. Actually, I guess we were at KM 118 Express because the 'main' side was buried in buses. Mad lines to order food. Since we are not rookies, we pivoted to the smaller side with the same menu. Sat in the upper deck for a view of highway 'quince D' that we'd be hopping back on shortly.

The second half of the drive was a bit of a grind. Obras, accidentes, y tráfico por todos lados. This was our view for much of the ride:

We arrived after an afternoon rain to a wet and gray Capula.

Picked up our order, including some new shapes and styles we will try out. Don't usually carry the floreros, but let's see how these do in the shop.

Also, as is usually our routine, we are staying at Hotel Casa Encantada. We enjoy the familiar surroundings.

With the traffic on the way and the pit stop in Capula, we rolled into Pátzcuaro around 7. Hungry, we made straight for an early dinner at Pasta y Pasto, a place we tried for the first time back in April. Bit chilly and raw, so we sat inside. Judy got a gigantic calzone and I went for the pasta poblana that I enjoyed last time. Nice Mexican/Italian fusion. Caprese skewers weren't great. We can skip those next time. But they got a bit of food in our belly while we waited for the main course.