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Antiques and collectibles in Central and Southern Mexico Alvin Starkman

The Sunday open air stalls at the Lagunilla in Mexico City, the expansive roadside shops just north of San Miguel de Allende, the stores and weekend marketplace at Los Sapos in Puebla, and good old fas... read more

art crafts

Tattoo artists in Oaxaca: a lawyer and a fine arts graduate make strange bedfellows with tatuadores Alvin Starkman

Lawyer Kaireddyn ("Kai") Orta began fabricating his own, rudimentary tools for making tattoos in 1996, while still in high school here in Oaxaca, Mexico. One day, a neighbor saw him carrying a shoe box, and asked him what was in it. Kai showed him the adapted motor, needles, ink and other paraphernalia. The neighbor was the recipient of Kai's first tattoo. Kai then began doing tattoos for his schoolmates. read more

Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Women potters of San Marcos Tlapazola, Oaxaca Alvin Starkman

Every Sunday Gloria awakens at 3:00 a.m., and begins preparing tejate, a frothy, tasty corn and cacao based drink, which she will offer for sale in the Tlacolula market. A couple of hours later, her si... read more

crafts culture-customs Oaxaca

Mexico's Mezcal Monkey: collectible ceramic folk art from Oaxaca Alvin Starkman

A hot collector's item, the ceramic mezcal monkey is designed to hold mescal, the spirit distilled from the baked, then fermented agave plant.
© Alvin Starkman, 2010

Designed to hold mescal, the Chango Mezcalero has become a very collectible folk art item whose history has been recounted infrequently, if at all. While by all accounts it originated in the State of Oaxaca, home of mezcal — the spirit distilled from the baked, then fermented agave plant — it's now highly sought after by collectors residing much further abroad.

The traditional Mezcal Monkey was used to hold, display and/or gift mezcal. The clay bottle is just that, usually with a stopper made of cork, or a small piece of corn cob. read more

crafts Oaxaca

Enrique Flores: Philanthropic Oaxaca artist has the golden touch Alvin Starkman

Magical nude by Oaxaca artisa Enrique Flores
© Alvin Starkman, 2009

Enrique Flores is one of the most prolific Mexican artists of his generation. Of course having been mentored by the late great master of contemporary Mexican art, Rodolfo Morales, hasn't hurt; nor has the fact that two of Oaxaca's most prominent art galleries, Indigo and Arte de Oaxaca, were his patrons for many years. But there's no substitute for hard work, talent, and vision. read more

artists Oaxaca

Fiona Dunnett: images of self and death in Oaxaca Alvin Starkman

Comic strips, a young Canadian's self portraits, and photographs of violent deaths in a Mexican daily newspaper, make strange bedfellows. But they constitute a major part of the driving force for the c... read more

art artists Oaxaca

Showing 1—6 of 6 results

Alvin Starkman

Owner of Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast, Oaxaca resident Alvin Starkman (MA, Social Anthropology, York University; JD, Osgoode Hall Law School) leads personalized tours to the craft villages, market towns, pre-Hispanic ruins and more off-the-beaten-track sights in the central valleys of Oaxaca, and is a consultant to documentary film production companies working in the region. A mezcal aficionado, Alvin also arranges culinary tours of Oaxaca with Chef Pilar. Alvin writes unique articles about life and cultural traditions in Oaxaca and also elsewhere throughout Mexico (including restaurant and cooking school reviews) for magazines, newspapers and travel websites. He is a paid Contributing Writer for Mexico Today, a program for Marca País — Imagen de México, a project developed to stimulate investment in Mexico and return tourism to its deserved level.