Margaritas to Host Mexican Folk Artists Oct. 27

Margaritas Mexican Restaurant at 75 Station Landing in Medford will play host to visiting artists Epifanio Fuentes and Laurencia Santiago, a husband-and-wife team of folk artists from Oaxaca, Mexico, on Sunday, October 27, 2013 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

With nothing more than some hand tools, the husband-and-wife duo will transform a hunk of wood into a whimsical work of art. An award-winning artist that has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine as well as in the Shepard Barbash book “Oaxacan Woodcarving: The Magic in the Trees,” Epifanio participates in numerous exhibitions throughout Mexico and the United States. Most notably, he has exhibited his work at the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, N.M. On his tour, his wife Laurencia complements her husband’s sculptures with exquisite designs, decorating the statues with bright acrylic paints, playful patterns and vivid color combinations that bring the carvings to life.

The presentation in Medford is one of several scheduled this fall throughout New England. As part of the Margaritas Education Outreach Program, artists visit not only the restaurants to demonstrate their craft to the public but also visit several local schools to share Mexican culture, traditions and trade secrets with students and faculty. Margaritas created the program in 1999 to bring artists, carvers and sculptors every year to share their talents and the Mexican culture with students and Margaritas diners. The series provides a glimpse into the colorful traditions of techniques that date back centuries.

To learn more about Margaritas Mexican Restaurant and the Visiting Artists program, visit www.margs.com.

– Information and photo from Margaritas