Mexican artists add spice to menu Margaritas sponsors husband-wife team

ORONO – One sure cure for the mud-season blues is to be immersed in the bright colors, spicy flavors and exotic ambiance of Mexico.

Toward that end, two celebrated Mexican artists will use a machete, crude chisels and tubes of acrylic paint to create whimsical woodcarvings as diners munch on tortilla chips and burritos from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 17, at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant.

Pat Picciano, education outreach coordinator for the Margaritas Restaurant chain in New England, says art is pervasive at all levels in Mexico.

“Since we create that atmosphere in our restaurants it’s only fitting to have an artist demonstrate,” Picciano said by phone.

The artists Epifanio Fuentes and Laurencia Santiago, a husband-and-wife team, come from the village of San Martin Tilcajete in Oaxaca, a Mexican state known for its folk art. Their carvings have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution and at the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, N.M.

Fuentes, like many in his village, carves animals, angels and other figures from seasoned wood of the copalillo tree. The origins of the art form can be traced to ancient Mexican religious beliefs in making physical representations of the spirits of gods or protective powers.

The woodcarving process begins when Fuentes looks at the shape of the wood to determine what creature his artist’s eye sees lurking within. He then uses his simple tools to pry it out. Santiago then decorates the carving with imaginative designs in wild colors and patterns.

The artists’ trip north is sponsored by Margaritas’ Education Outreach Program.

Based in Greenland, N.H., Margaritas’ management team takes pride in the lively artwork and crafts from south of the border that jam its walls.

“We are pretty authentic,” Picciano said. “The only thing we’re missing is a mariachi band, and they’re kind of hard to get way up here.”

About six years ago, Margaritas founder and CEO John Pelletier decided that the next step for the restaurant was to bring artists north and share the vibrant culture of Mexico with schoolchildren and others.

Through Margaritas’ Field Trip Program, schoolchildren can tour the restaurants, watch a cooking demonstration, enjoy a Mexican meal and watch an educational video.

The success of the in-restaurant field trips spurred the development of the visiting artist program. Margaritas sponsors two artist tours of New England every year. Mask maskers, papier-mach? artists, woodcarvers and ceramists have traveled to local schools where they put on an assembly for the students. They also demonstrate their work in the restaurant, as Fuentes and Santiago will do.

“It’s exciting,” Picciano said. “Some people come in there and ask, well, what’s this guy with a machete doing in here?”

The outreach coordinator will serve as the couple’s translator, and said that patrons are encouraged to stop by and chat with the artists about their techniques, their culture or just to practice Spanish.

“It’s a great way to learn about the culture,” he said.

For a restaurant considered locally as a college hangout, Margaritas, through its educational outreach, shows the company takes Mexican culture and traditions seriously.

“It’s a fun place to go,” Picciano said. “Not just for college kids. When you think of Mexico, you think of fun. You think of fiesta. That’s what we try to create.”

Abigail Curtis can be reached at abigail.curtis@umit.maine.edu.