The Olga Costa and José Chávez Morado Museum
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by Alberto Lenz

The Olga Costa and José Chávez Morado Museum is housed in the ruins of an old hacienda, next to an old riverbed, in the Pastita neighborhood, on the outskirts of Guanajuato. Arriving, we are greeted by a beautiful courtyard where, among many other plants and trees, there are two large flower pots containing Forget-Me-Nots, the plant that symbolizes eternal love. In these two pots are also deposited the ashes of Olga Costa and José Chávez Morado, two great artists whose work and presence shaped the art of Guanajuato.

Olga Costa was a splendid artist, creating beautiful oil paintings depicting the people and landscapes of Mexico. Delicate and without ostentation, her paintings convey peace and joy. Along with Rufino Tamayo and Chucho Reyes, she captured the intense color that illuminates the towns and markets of our country.

Olga Costa

On the other hand, José Chávez Morado was a combative artist. A political activist and member of the famous and revolutionary Taller de la Gráfica Popular, he also portrayed the people and landscape of Mexico, not in their joys and colors, but in their misery and pain. He is the author of at least a dozen great masterpieces that undoubtedly place him on the honor roll of 20th-century Mexican art.

While Olga was a discreet, reserved, and lovable woman, sheltered in her studio both by choice and due to the illnesses that afflicted her, José was a man devoted to the public, a committed leftist activist, fully active in national and state politics, a true alpha male of Guanajuato art.

José Chávez Morado

My personal relationship with José was very close. Although I was very young and, to top it all, created geometric works very far removed from the socialist realism practiced by José, the maestro always recognized and praised my work. In a catalog published in those years by the Museo del Pueblo of Guanajuato about my work, he even stated, admittedly a bit exaggerated, that my geometric work had already reached heights similar to those of Carlos Mérida.

I visited Olga and José's house quite frequently. I always found him working in his studio, located in a kind of antique turret that dominated the house. At that time, the maestro was creating a large ceramic mural that would later be placed at the entrance of an important office building in Polanco, Mexico City. It was a spectacular work, which undoubtedly enriched the architecture of the building in which it was installed.

Olga Costa

Olga was rarely seen. She was almost always confined to her rooms, cared for by nurses who came and went while José and I chatted about art and politics in the studio. Although there were plenty of people who frequently came to visit the pair of artists, there was a sense of sadness in the house. Through it all, I repeatedly ran into Raquel Tibol, one of the most important Mexican art critics. When we were alone together, sipping coffee or a good tequila, she would tell me tasty gossip about the many artists she knew.

Raquel loved to share this artistic gossip. She laughed a lot at the private behavior of several artists, such as Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera—whose close assistant she was—and José himself. Truly, Raquel could have written a thick and juicy book with all the intimate stories she knew of the great masters.

Octavio Paz
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On one occasion, also at Olga and José's house, I met Octavio Paz. The great poet had come to Guanajuato to film a television program about Hermenegildo Bustos, the postman-painter of Purísima del Rincón, a great 19th-century portraitist whose marvelous work is housed in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas Museum.

Octavio Paz arrived with his second wife, Marie Jo Tramin, a French-born writer and journalist, the poet's muse, assistant, and close companion. They were a wonderful couple. She, intelligent and beautiful, shone brilliantly alongside Paz. In one text, Elena Poniatowska wrote that Marie Jo's devotion and dedication to Octavio were absolute: "She lived for him, by him, with him, through him."

That afternoon, Olga made a great effort and managed to be present in the room, crammed with paintings and ornaments, where the meeting with Octavio and Marie Jo took place. It was impossible not to receive, even for a short time, the famous, world-famous couple. I was there by chance, as a young emerging artist, lucky enough to be a witness.

José Chávez Morado

As you might expect, Octavio Paz, a universal star, dominated the meeting. His presence was imposing, his wisdom was authentic and profound. His personal air, however, struck me as somewhat distant and haughty, perhaps because I was used to the simplicity and extreme kindness of Olga and José. But I think now that it could not have been otherwise. Octavio Paz was undoubtedly a great figure, and he made the world feel that way.

I noticed José was a little uncomfortable. Although he was friendly as always, I felt that after a while he was wishing the meeting would end. He was undoubtedly worried that Olga was making a great effort to be there. But perhaps he also felt that our little Guanajuato world, warm and familiar, had little to do with the spotlight surrounding Paz. When the poet and his wife left, José whispered in my ear: "I'm glad the visit is over, I was getting very tired of attending to so much beautiful plumage."

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Alberto Lenz is an artist living in San Miguel de Allende dedicated to sculpture, painting and architecture. Recently, he is also working on the design of jewelry and textiles, under his XIDO-Estudio brand.

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