Mexican artist Alejandro Santiago dead at 49

I just thought his was an amazing man even though I'd not heard of him before ... and as a pottery/art major in Eugene Oregon, even more so.   Would love to see his work.

OAXACA, Mexico — Alejandro Santiago, a Mexican artist who filled the streets of his hometown with clay figures to represent the migrants who left for the United States, died Monday. He was 49. 

Santiago died of a heart attack, said Emilio de Leo, the Oaxaca state culture director. De Leo said Santiago had diabetes for years 

Santiago, a painter and sculptor who studied in the workshop of Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca, had shows in Mexico, the United States and Europe. 

His best known work was “2,501 Migrants,” which opened in 2007 in his picturesque hometown of Teococuilco, in southern Oaxaca state. Financed with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, it was an ambitious work to create an army of life-size clay figures to replace departed townspeople.

Mexican artist Alejandro Santiago renowned for making clay migrants dead at 49 

2501 Migrants: A Journey is a full-length documentary that explores questions of art, and indigenous community in the context of global migration

Hacienda in Oaxaca

I've seen Haciendas for sale mostly in the Yucatan with many retaining much of their former glory. This one had no glory left and was not even the house but the crop storage barn. Don Pedrillo is the old Hacienda name dating back 400 years and was later incorporated into larger land holdings.

Everette and Beth Deese bought this old place back in the early '90's, did some support work on it and then let it sit until 2007. Quite the project compared to what most Expats undertake to build a house in Mexico.  A number of interesting photo stories about their project on the Blog.

Everette and Beth Deese | Photos of Don Pedrillo