When I asked a man behind a counter in an old store in the city of Apaseo EI Alto about Domingo Galván, the answer was immediate.
Everyone there knows the draftsman, carver, sculptor of religious images and, also, as he himself affirms, of ornament. His training, largely self-taught, was reinforced by his perseverance and the invaluable help of some teachers he encountered throughout his life. Born in the first decade of the century, Don Domingo preserves at 85 years of age a great lucidity that is manifested when he tells his story, which could well be summarized as that of a man endowed with enormous artistic ability and, above all, a person in whom work has left an indelible mark of wisdom, pride and, at the same time, humility.
While he discovers "his secrets", accompanied by a completely serene voice, the representations of angels and archangels are silent, attentive to the teacher's narration. Then the image of a young man appears before my eyes, blurred in his memory, who, from his peasant origin, undertakes the great adventure of being useful. He entered the Training Institute of Querétaro and obtained the title of teacher with the thesis Arts and Crafts in the primary school. This work would forever mark his destiny.
The vocation of the artist is combined in him with that of the teacher who in his spare time will teach the manual arts. Thirty-three years of his life were dedicated to teaching in rural primary schools, in Celaya, Apaseo EI Grande and EI Alto. That experience later led him to teach wood carving, for which he acquired the necessary knowledge to become a teacher of several generations of new artisans. “In 1936 I approached the artist Jesús Mendoza based in Querétaro to receive sculpture classes. Although Mendoza hid some of his secrets, I continued to attend to observe each of the teacher's movements. "
But the attitude of Jesús Mendoza ended up discouraging him and it was then that he began to visit Don Cornelio Arellano in the Pueblito, today Corregidora, in the state of Querétaro, a man of great value who combined his work as a sculptor with endless gatherings that shortened the time for learning. “However, it was he who taught me all the secrets. With his death, I lost one of my best teachers. " In 1945 an artist “from far away” worked on the restoration of the images of the Apaseo EI Alto parish. From his hands, works of exceptional value emerged, such as the sculpture of "The Three Birds Marías" that is found in a church in Querétaro, and that of San Francisco that is still preserved in the parish. Don Domingo was there to learn half-size, helping the stranger with the jobs he had entrusted to him. “With this artist I learned drawing, anatomy; absolutely everything, from the beginning: a first finger, a hand, the correct proportions of the human figure ”.
That is why the images of Don Domingo Galván, unlike those made by artisans in the region, retain a proportion that respects the indigenous carvings made during the colonial era.
In 1950 he established contact with an antique dealer from Querétaro named Jesús Guevara, whom he assisted in his business by repairing the old images acquired in the towns of the region. There he made the first replicas of original pieces that will later serve him to dedicate himself fully to the carving of religious images and ornaments, thus creating a tradition that continues to this day. There are many young people trained by Don Domingo, more than a hundred. Oblivious to the selfish practices that advised him not to teach "his secrets", the teacher promoted the creation of workshops that with his work support many families in the Apaseo EI Alto region. Behind this work there was a persistent research work to find the right woods and to master the techniques of stewing. “The most difficult thing was to discover, after a long time, the procedure to give the figures the patina of time. First I tried with smoke and they even scorched me. Some time later, tired of experimentation and already desperate, I grabbed tar and smeared a piece: eureka! I had found the secret. "
The interviewee caresses one of the images to explain the qualities of the woods he uses: he mentions the colorín or patol, the palo santo that is easily worked, lacks thread and is not good for burning, avocado and mesquite.
He confesses that currently the finish is made with lower quality materials such as oil paints and fake gold, and only on request does he carry out work applying the 23 karat gold foil.
Don Domingo has formed an extensive family of artisans who produce works of great quality and beauty. "I have realized, in the March 24 contests in Guanajuato, that my disciples are as good or better than I am, although not all respect the proportions in the art of sculpting images." His children continue the tradition, and even one of his grandsons worked close to us while his grandfather confessed not having received tributes. Many have come here to interview him, he receives letters from abroad and is not interested in recognition. "I'm no longer for those things."
The creativity of this unique artisan is far superior to the success obtained in the exercise of trade and the distribution of his objects. The sizes go from hand to hand until they reach buyers who are responsible for shipping them to different parts of Mexico and the world. For him the practice of foreign trade is complicated, since the specifications of the packaging are very complex for those who are dedicated to handicrafts. The relationship with the world is only part of a dream that accompanies the images.
While he reflects on what has been the development of the wood carving by the diamonds of Apaseo EI Alto, where the sun rises for everyone, I did not know how to end the interview; It was difficult to understand Don Domingo's ability to keep his distance from the frontiers of the world around him. This makes him an enigma, a casuistic phenomenon: a man dedicated all his life to tradition, who has made an apostolate of his profession. His fundamental contribution is there, in the extraordinary figures that came out of the hands and the prodigious intelligence of a master craftsman: Don Domingo Galván.
Source: Mexico in Time No. 3 October-November 1994
Director of Unknown Mexico. Anthropologist by training and leader of the MD project for 18 years!
