Unique Pieces, Pieces by the CAAY

Each year, the Collective of Artists and Artisans of Yucatán (CAAY) organizes a grand event to bring their works closer to people, hoping to find them a new home. This time, the date has been set: December 2 to 4, just in time to fill your trunk of holiday presents—whichever the celebration—with unique pieces. Believe me, what you see in regular window shops cannot compare to what you’ll see at this event.

In addition to being a long-awaited event for shoppers and collectors; for artisans and artists, it represents a year’s preparation. “We always strive to bring new products to the event,” says Enrique de Gorostegui, a member of the organizing committee; “our shoppers appreciate finding new, different items.”

The items you will find are not only unique, but widely varied in their craft; for example, woodturning and staining, goldsmithing, filigree, ceramics, textiles, and embroidery. The artists and artisans in attendance have been carefully curated by an anonymous committee, so you can be sure their pieces will be enthralling. Exhibitors include Rubén Escoto (with high-temperature utilitarian ceramics), Elizabeth Hijuelos (hand-painted silk), Memo Pisté (turned wood), Celso Kumul (polychrome wood), and Carolina Cobos (filigree). I’ve already made plans to be there for at least one full day—I’m indecisive, so I might need more than one—with a generous budget.

As Enrique de Gorostegui puts it, the primary goal is to “get the producer of art and crafts in direct contact with the buyer.” The rest is a party. In addition to the stall area, they will have lounging areas, food stands, and coffee service. Live music too, of course.

The guests for this edition

Do you need one more reason to visit this great event? Here’s two. First of all, the CAAY will be hosting guest artisans from Guanajuato: experts working with miniature Talavera, mirrors, brass, cast bronze, and leather items. Also onsite, they will have an exhibition of embroidered Hipiles by the restorer Pedro Mendoza; some of these garments are over 100 years old.

CAAY, formerly AANY

Although this collective, as an organizing committee, was consolidated in 2019, the event began many years earlier through an organization founded by Joan Farrell: Amigos de Artistas/Artesanos Nuevos de Yucatán (Friends of New Artists/Artisans of Yucatan). “Due to different circumstances, it disappeared in 2018,” Enrique de Gorostegui told me. As the months went by, a group of artisans decided to resume the project, and, after a name change to differentiate themselves, they successfully convened the first edition in 2019.

Grand CAAY Exhibit
CANACO-SERVYTUR Mérida
Av. Itzaes # 273 x 31 y 33 , Col. García Ginerés
WhatsApp: 999 242 3118
December 2 to 4, 10 am – 8 pm

Editorial by Olivia Camarena Cervera
Yucatecan communicologist. Your favorite Assistant Editor. Writer, blogger, and bookstagrammer in her spare time. She also experiments with TikTok.

Photography by CAAY for use in Yucatán Today.