The Gifts of Perdido (Being Lost)

I am on my way to Museo de Textil Oaxaca and it is proving not to be where I thought it was. So, I stop in a shady spot where I can see my phone map to unlost my lostness. I see a flash of bright color and something about imagination and suddenly I’m falling down a rabbit hole.

I wander in and my breath catches as I see joyful, childlike paintings on the walls ...

 

 

 

What is this place?

As I wander through the space, deciphering bits and pieces of the graphic explanations, I gather that it is about reading. But, what is it? There are no children here although it is obviously designed to delight the child within.

"There are two types of readers:  
those who carefully pass through a book, 
and those who with equal care 
let the book pass through them. "
-- Douglas Jerrod 

 The only clue I find is the opening sign that says "Proyectos de lectura FAHHO." 


So, off I go into infolandia and find out that FAHHO is the acroynm for Foundation Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca, so it is some sort of philanthropic organization. I need to talk with someone.

"The writer is the painter of the voice."

After signing in with security I wind up talking with Edú, who fortunately speaks great English, and find out that this is one of Oaxaca's biggest foundations and one of their focuses is on supporting reading programs with mobile libraries, children's programs and so on.

Universos Imaginados is a temporary exhibit about their programs. Turns out that it is a very big foundation and the office we're in is part of a converted convent that the foundation turned into a cultural center.  It is one of the more unusual conversions I've seen ... antiquity merged with contemporary.

They also created the Museo de Textil Oaxaca ... where I was originally headed ... and a Mexican folk art store called Andares. When folk art was mentioned, I told Edú I was a volunteer with the Feria Maestros del Arte and he immediately suggested that I go talk to Eric Chávez Santiago, the director of Andares and their artisan support program. An hour later I was in a meeting with three people from that program talking about how we might collaborate.

I wonder about this exhibit that drew me in. From an early age, reading expanded my life. Was it this energy of reading that drew me into this specific spot and gave me an interesting day that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gotten "lost"? The image below speaks to me of the winding path of life and the power of reading.

Triumph! from Universo Imaginados