Mexico Lindo, Mundo Lindo

When Jean-Pierre died in 2013, everyone, customers and artists alike insisted vehemently to me: “You must continue! You are needed! We will support you!” Knowing even then the unlikelihood  of financial success when after almost 10 years we had never once made a profit, I was hesitant, but I was determined to throw in all that I had to give and it a try. I increased the advertising budget significantly, I brought two Great Maestros as visiting artists and collaborated with local organizations to introduce them to as many people as possible, I commissioned one of a kind masterpieces and I introduced some wonderful new clothing lines. I Facebooked, I Tweeted, I Instagrammed, I blogged, I emailed. Quite often couldn’t do much in my grief stricken state, and then we lost Jean-Pierre’s mother as well. This world is very different than it was when I began my site and then 2 years later opened the store; there has been a perfect storm of circumstances beyond my control, all pointing to the same conclusion: this cannot be sustained in this fashion with just one person being chef, cook and bottle washer. The rise and fall of the latest “it” shopping districts have incurred a sharp decrease of traffic in my beloved neighborhood, and I have never been willing to pass the price of higher rents on to my customers for the sake of  more traffic or more recognition, whether that would have been wiser or not. I have been fortunate in my landlords at Equity Real Estate, who have not raised my rent for years, yet even that isn’t enough. More and more of our shopping is done from our homes. The influx of inexpensive Chinese imitations of categories of work such as muertos has significantly curtailed my sales as well. I will close the Murray Avenue locale at the end of February. It will make more sense for me at this time to go back to where I began, and the site re-do that I began in July is well underway. I will let you know when the relaunch is official. But before that, I have a much neglected house to attend to, with clutter and things to be sold and redistributed in all manner of ways. I will finally begin paperwork to bring to life my non profit, which will be called Mundo Lindo, so that I can find a way to continue doing what I love within the framework of multicultural collaborations. I will do some local events as a vendor, and I will be creating some product lines that I have long desired to, with the hopes that there may yet be a way for Mexico Lindo and the artists whom I represent to preserve their traditions, for all to prosper and grow. I have a dream: a location that has room for vendors representing various countries, dedicated space for changing exhibits, visiting artists, workshops, dance and performance. In the middle of that is a cafe and there is ample parking for food trucks for outdoor events. An international mercado. Whether or not this dream is based in a reality that can be manifested will depend on many factors, and it is a long range plan. A developer with deep pockets and similar vision will be needed. I truly don’t know if it can or should be done, or if I am the person to do it. Nonetheless, I’m compelled to ask: are you with me? Then please stay tuned and stay in touch. 

with all of my love and gratitude,

Lisa