La Candelaria Mountain Potters of Baja Sur

One of the highlights of my trip to Baja last year was a visit with potters in La Candelaria, a mountain village east of Todos Sandos. My husband was pursuaded to take the trip since 4 wheeling "might have been" necessary to climb rough roads and streams to reach the remote locations in the tropical dry forests of the Sierra de la Laguna, with peaks ranging from 6,000 to 7,000 feet.

Doña Romona is the artist for the "Our Lady of Guadalupe" ceramic statue shown. According to history, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on a hill northwest of Mexico City in 1531. Before Juan Diego saw the Virgin Mary he heard music and smelled flowers. History and legend account for much of the imagery used to depict "Our Lady of Guadalupe" statues and paintings in Mexico to this day.

Doña Romona is pictured packing the statue of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" I purchased from her. The statue made it over 1000 miles on our road trip home. Thank you, Doña Romona, for your wonderful hospitality, beautiful pottery, and for packing "Our Lady of Guadalupe" so she made it safely to my home.

Doña Romona described to me how she digs native clay and pit fires her pottery in a brick pit kiln she and her husband have constructed near their home. Doña Romona said she learned pottery from her mother and grandmother and showed me the wooden tools she uses - the same tools her ancestors used to make pottery.

Writing about my trip to Baja has me wishing I was there now, visiting with the friendly people, sipping a cerveza, and walking along a deserted beach - ahhh.