Mata Ortiz: The Art of Survival and the Survival of Art

Juan Mata Ortiz is a small ejido, or land grant village, of three hundred-plus families nestled along the banks of the Palanganas River in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at an elevation of about 5,200 feet. The people of the village have been traditional ranchers and farmers. They have also labored in the local mining, lumber, and railroad enterprises that have been located in the area throughout the twentieth century. In addition, a small but influential population of Chinese immigrants with a talent for mercantilism came to the region following the railroad. After the Mexican Revolution, many of those with Mexican heritage became members of the ejido.

The surrounding area is also rich in a variety of clays. Inspired by pre-Columbian artifacts from the nearby ruins of Paquimé, many families in the village have become expert traditional potters, first making replicas of archaeological discoveries, and later signing their creations, and thereby achieving national and international recognition for the unique pottery they create.

This is the story of one of those families, that of Graciela and Héctor Gallegos, who today are both respected members of their village community and famous for their exquisitely painted pottery. This is the first in a series of stories I am writing about families in Mata Ortiz, and it derives oral history told to me by members of the village over the last several years.

Looking from the Sierra Madre foothills across the Palanganas River valley to the village of Mata Ortiz.

(Copyright © 2011 Ana Livingston Paddock)

The Family of Graciela Martínez and Héctor Gallegos

This story begins with the endless search for work and struggle to make a living. The families of both Héctor and Graciela came to this region of Mexico in the early 1900s, looking for jobs. The largest sawmill in Mexico, if not the Americas, was built on the banks of the Palanganas River in what is now Mata Ortiz in the early part of the twentieth century. The mill and town were named Pearson after their founder, Fred Stark Pearson, an American entrepreneur educated at Tufts University. The Pearson lumber mill and the railroad that ran through the village offered jobs to the many who immigrated to the area in search of work.

Graciela and Héctor with members of their family at their granddaughter Valeria's christening, 2010.

(Copyright © 2011 Ana Livingston Paddock)

Looking south toward the Pearson lumber mill and the two dry lakebeds used for soaking the fresh-cut lumber. (Courtesy Hoard Collection, El Paso Public Library)

Mexican laborers at the Pearson lumber mill with their foreign supervisors in front. (Courtesy Hoard Collection, El Paso Public Library)

La Redonda, as the railcar turnaround terminal in Mata Ortiz was called, serviced and repaired the train engines and railcars that transported large quantities of timber and logs down from the Sierra Madre. The train also transported people and goods back and forth from Mata Ortiz to Chihuahua and El Paso.

Graciela's grandfather, José Fong Poi, had come from China by way of California to El Paso and, feeling better suited to the Mexican culture, moved across the river to Juárez, where he became manager of the Cooper Hotel. Graciela's grandmother, Gregoria, was orphaned at the age of eight and was eventually "adopted" by the owners of the hotel, where she met José, and they soon married. As a young couple in

José Fong Poi and his wife, Gregoria, whose disgruntled face reflects her disdain for cameras.(Courtesy Gallegos and Martínez families)

their twenties they were offered the job of overseers for the new hotel/ boarding house being built in Pearson to accommodate the managers of the mill. And, according to family oral history, that is how they arrived in Pearson.

The hotel sat...