In a nation of talented folk artisans, MAP came to the village of Metepec. And within the village of Metepec, brimming with artisans, MAP came to the Ramirez-Soteno workshop. The new Museo de Arte Popular (MAP) opening in late February 2006 in Mexico City, will feature a magnificent clay tree, 18-feet in height, created by this famous taller. And, the directors of MAP knew the Ramirez-Soteno workshop could more than deliver.

The Ramirez of Ramirez-Soteno is JAVIER RAMIREZ, married to the daughter of maestro, ALFONSO SOTENO. The Soteno is ALFONSO SOTENO, the eldest surviving son of the great Don Dario Soteno and Modesta Fernández. Together, they toiled on the MAP tree for more than three years. There are some that would say that they have toiled on the tree for more than 75 years, and correctly so, for many credit the creation of the “Metepec tree” to Modesta Fernández, Alfonso’s mother.

As recounted in the book, Ceramic Trees of Life, Popular Art From Mexico¹, Modesta was first motivated to create clay works as a young mother providing for her family. Her creative style gained the notice of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo who began collecting Fernandez’s pieces (many of which are displayed at the Frida Kahlo “Blue House” in Coyoacán). Rivera’s fondness of Modesta’s clay figures led him to request that she create a depiction of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, circa the late 1930s or early 1940s. Fernandez’s early trees were not trees at all, but rather a single pole wrapped by a serpent, with Adam and Eve on each side. With time, there was a yearning to tell more complex Biblical stories through clay and to incorporate more figures and decorations into each piece, and the entire Soteno family rose to the challenge.

Around the late 1940s or early 1950s, the Sotenos added clay “branches” to each side of the simple pole, making more of a true tree form, and candles holders were also added. Did the tree became a candelabra, or did the candelabra become a tree? No matter because the new super-structure, with its several arches (branches), could now support many more decorations. It is this new tree form that eventually found its way into Mexican hearts and history.

The Soteno family continued to work together, and by the mid-1960s, the “Metepec tree” had exceeded three feet in height. Young Alfonso was fascinated by the idea of creating giant trees, but his large creations continued to shatter in the oven. Modesta told her son not to waste his time, but Alfonso was undeterred in his quest to create even larger clay trees. In the 1970s, Mexican president, Luis Echeverría, commissioned 52 giant trees to be created by Alfonso Soteno. The trees were to be placed in the most-important Mexican embassies abroad. Alfonso began tackling the technical problems in earnest (assisted by his father and brothers), at last creating a bottle shaped kiln, 13 feet in height, which successfully accommodated the larger trees. The collective efforts of the Sotenos, and Alfonso Soteno in particular, are remembered and praised throughout Mexico for creating the presidential commissions that became a true symbol of Mexico, worldwide.The current MAP commission was created in three separate sections, each standing approximately six to seven feet in height allowing for successful firing and to facilitate transport. A variety of techniques were used to form the two-sided tree, including molding (to form the large trunk and branches), the molding of small adornments (which include thousands of flowers and leaves), and hand sculpting of other details and adornments. After one firing, each section of the tree was ingeniously attached with wire, holding the tree in place to accommodate painting and completion. The entire tree next received a white wash to which the brightly colored acrylic painting would be added by the maestros. An important feature of this commission is the addition of clay shelves to each side of the tree. These shelves are to display clay examples of every type of Mexican artesania from mask carving, to weaving, to tinwork, to pottery.

The respective components of the “Tree of Mexican Folk Art” will carefully make their way from Metepec to Mexico City, February 18-21, 2006, on large trucks. Straw will be used as a bed of protective cushioning for the tree’s journey. Once at the museum, the three components of the tree will be rejoined, this time, permanently. Finishing paint touches will next be applied. Finally, the detailed representations of each folk art form will be placed on the tree’s many display shelves. The “Tree of Mexican Folk Art” will surely be a focal point at the museum’s grand opening, tentatively scheduled for February 28, 2006.

For the new Museo de Arte Popular, history and experience dictated that the giant tree be created in the workshop of Alfonso Soteno and Javier Ramirez, but how did Javier become part of the Soteno clan?