ABOUT US
About Us
MexicaChica Getaways was founded by Claudette Elizondo, a former Dallas jewelry designer with a thirst for knowledge, travel and a deep appreciation for the arts. She moved to Merida last year with her family to fulfill her dream of opening a women's group travel company providing top-level experiential and cultural travel packages. It was here that she began to meet so many talented individuals that eventually fit into one big beautiful puzzle. Through bringing together a team of professionals with varied backgrounds, Claudette created her service that helps women reawaken their passions through experience, culture and education in a supportive group environment.
The company was born from a firm belief that we all have a need to constantly create, learn and discover and what better way to do it than in company of other fabulous women and in a beautiful destination. Our core commitment to you is to help you reach your full potential by providing unforgettable and inspiring experiences. Our success comes from our attention to detail coupled with a nurturing staff, ensuring you have a memorable learning vacation.
Our Inspiring Location
Mérida is the cultural center of the Yucatan state in Mexico, renowned as the most peaceful city in Mexico, Mérida contains a sophisticated and cosmopolitan blend with theaters, concerts, museums, parks and numerous cultural events occurring throughout the city each week. Mérida's convenient location in the Gulf state of the Yucatan enhances its appeal: only thirty minutes to the Gulf Coast beaches, Mérida is regularly served by flights on Continental Airlines that connect to major cities in the United States. Merida is a short, three hour drive from the beaches of the Riviera Maya, and within an easy drive of major Mayan ruins, including Chichen Itza, recently named one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
About the Art Studio
In the heart of the historical center of the city of Merida, Yucatan in Mexico, is Nahualli, La Casa de los Artistas. It is a place where the solemn elegance of the colonial architecture is a beautiful contrast to the contemporary artworks displayed within. The artwork that is displayed in this space is luminous, unique and of the highest quality.The artists, creators and curators are Abel Vázquez and Melva Medina, whose years of experience in the art world at a national and international level in Mexico has led them to propose a new form of seeing, enjoying and acquiring works of art. With their studio, they attempt to give the visitor the opportunity to enjoy the creative process and together be witness to the birth of their new works.
La Casa de Los Artistas has been the scene of many cultural events, musical performances, poetry readings. Writers and others from various disciplines have enriched the space with their presence. Our workshops are held in its gorgeous outdoor studio. It is here that new artists are introduced to the joy and adventure of creation.
Meet the Instructors
Melva Medina
Sculptor, Painter and Workshop Leader
Melva was born in Morelia, Michoacan, México. She graduated in Professional Studies of the Visual Arts at La Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado, La Esmeralda, an affiliate of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. This talented woman is the director of Nahualli, casa de los artistas, a space where she exhibits her graphic art and sculptures and now hosts and teaches our MexicaChica art workshops.
Her work as an artist and educator at El Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey is noteworthy. Her work has been exhibited in more than forty expositions in different museums and galleries in Mexico. Today, her pieces are part of collections from around the world, especially those in the United States and Canada.
Her work speaks to us through the women she portrays who communicate their feelings, how they live and what they contribute to the events of their lives. Interwoven with elements of mysticism and contemporary poetry, the imagery found in her art derives from her latina culture and prehispanic roots. Distinctive for themes that move beyond the commonplace, her iconography reflects the themes of seduction, eroticism, and the metaphysical, and attempts to include visual representations of literary metaphor. She has an unusual ability to convey in great detail the elements that comprise her work while demonstrating at the same time a superb mastery of technique and an extraordinary power to captivate the viewer.
Abel Vasquez
Scuptor, Painter and Workshop Leader
Abel is a gifted and accomplished sculptor and painter from Oaxaca state in Mexico. His mastery in technique and joy for sharing knowledge prove invaluable during our guided explorations in art with Abel. He studied art at La Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado, La Esmeralda, an affiliate of El Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
As a child, he learned cabinetmaking from his father, then went on to study sculpture and graduate from the most important school of art in Mexico. He is a multifaceted professional and has made significant inroads into various areas of the visual arts, producing pieces that range in scale from small to monumental. As a sculptor, he has worked in bronze, stone, and iron and continues to explore multiple technical variations of resins. He is a masterful painter whose natural gift for color is especially evident in his work with acrylics and watercolors. He has experimented with printmaking, drawing and photography with interesting results.
His pieces portray the magic and the mysticism of his birthplace and the deep reverence he feels for it.
His artwork is part of national and international collections. It has been exhibited in prestigious museums in Mexico City. Abel's work has been shown on numerous occasions in Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami in the United States and can be found in galleries and private collections around the world. Presently he lives in Mérida, Yucatan, where he is an integral participant in state-sponsored cultural events and exhibits his most recent work in his private gallery, Nahualli, la casa de los artistas.
Teresa Cuevas
Guest Speaker and Mayan Culture Guide
Teresa is our resident Mayan Culture expert. She will be leading us on our excursions to various archeological sites, as well as educating us through her informative talks on this fascinating subject. Her boisterous personality, contagious smile and deep knowledge of Mayan iconography perfectly combine to make for an intriguing and captivating exursion everytime.
Her background includes a popourri of interests that serve us well on our journey in the arts.She offers courses on Mayan culture, sketching and designs workshops where music, rhythm and scribbling promote creativity. She continues to study art, and has found in Nahualli, casa de los artistas, the ideal place for exploring and learning about sculpture.
For her, Mayan culture is an inexhaustible source of learning; using their cosmology and geometry of the Mayan house, she has produced many watercolors that reflect their ways of being, thinking and drawing. Teresa has 28 years experience as an Architect and has a Masters Degree in Educational Innovation.
Because she is convinced that learning through drawing has many rewards, she is now designing workshops for the study of the Mayan hieroglyphs.Tere believes that education is very important and enjoys her work very much. In her free time she designs, builds and renovates colonial buildings with her husband with whom she shares a business partnership with.
Chef Brent Marsh
Merida Chef
Upon leaving his native New Zealand at a relatively young age, Brent was delighted to discover that there was more to dinner than meat and potatoes. With a natural flair for gastronomy and bursting with curiosity, he dove head-first into the international world of culinary arts: studying the classic rules of cooking in Europe; learning to innovate and break them in California; and encountering a parallel universe of culinary traditions in the far-flung corners of East Asia.
Brent spent many years admiring the spirited cuisine of Mexico from afar, and it was only upon moving there in 2006 that he truly began to appreciate its many nuances. An initial year in Guadalajara provided an ample course in the fiery dishes of Jalisco and the pacific coast. An additional year in the nation’s capital allowed him to devour the intricacies of central Mexican fare. Currently based in Merida, Brent has spent the past couple of years experimenting first-hand with the flavors that make Yucatecan cuisine so utterly delicious.
With an infectious enthusiasm for food, Brent’s eventual foray into cooking instruction seemed like the most natural of progressions. He has considerable experience in leading both one-on-one cooking sessions and small, intimate classes. Over the years Brent has shared his wealth of culinary knowledge on topics ranging from essential kitchen skills like the ‘art of chopping’, to the execution of 11-course extravaganzas.
Chef Jose Luis Rodriguez
Izamal Chef
Mexico City native, Jose Luis Rodriguez is a service industry professional with many years of experience. His degree in Tourism has served him well as the Director of a restaurant, hotel and tourism consulting firm called Decatur Consulting in Mexico. He has also put his extensive knowledge to good use as a trainer for SECTUR Mexico, Mexico's government agency of tourism. Jose Luis has collaborated in the openings of twenty two restaurants which has included everything from menu design to work flow and systems design in order to promote efficiency and cost effectiveness. He currently serves as the lead chef at Kinich restaurant in Izamal. We are please to have Jose Luis lead our groups as we learn about Yucatecan cuisine in a beautiful lush garden setting.
Laura Holland Gomez
Spanish Instructor
Laura was born and educated in Mexico City, where her long career began as a bilingual secretary for various companies and eventually worked as a teacher in both Mexico City and Toluca. She studied at the Instituto Anglo Mexicana de Cultura in Mexico City and is certified to teach English as a foreign language and has a Lower Certificate of Cambridge.
She has participated in several teachers' training courses as well as a course in the application of neurolinguistic techniques for teaching.
Laura has been enjoying her teaching work with adults in Merida since her move in 2000. She enjoys reading, sports, self improvement activities as well as cooking and baking. She is married to John Holland and has two grown children, Patrick, 30 and George, 28.
Olmo Hinojosa
Fitness Vacation Instructor
Olmo Hinojosa has had a lifetime of training to best train you. He grew up in Cancun with a father who specialized in physical education. This has made for a solid foundation to make sports and an active lifestyle a central focus for Olmo. He has also trained in ballet and modern dance which is considered a base for all sports.
Olmo has been a prominent sports figure in Tulum for the last 4 years since he arrived. He has been a trainer at several main gyms currently including Evolve and Dharma and is one of the top trainers at the well known Amansala’s Bikini Bootcamps.
His other talents and interests include creating original tattoos for his tattoo studio Tattooluum, as well as voluteer for Pioneros Rafaga Tulum which is the little league basketball in which both his daughter, 5 and son, 7 are involved in.
Olmo Hinojosa resides in Tulum with his wife Crystal and two lovely children.
Claudia Guerrero
Yoga Instructor
Claudia is a fully qualified and certified yoga instructor trained in the Iyengar Method by Fundacion Herta Rogg in Mexico City, (4 years) and by Dona Holleman in Italy (4 years). In addition, Claudia is a disciple of Orits Sen Gupta and is trained in the Vijnana method of yoga.
During her nine uninterrupted years of practice and constant preparation, Claudia has continued her education and attended comprehensive workshops in the areas of Indian philosophy, anatomy, breathing techniques and pranayama. She is continuously refining her own understanding of yoga.
Claudia is also a professional actress. She studied in the actors studio directed by Luis de Tavira in Mexico City. Her seven years of intense theatrical training provided her with various artistic and corporal techniques which have enriched her understanding of movement and self-expression. These techniques allow her to help her students explore their inner world and discover new channels for personal and professional creativity. She toured New York and UK as a yoga teacher for the Slavas Snow show, the Russian clown company.
She has experience teaching children, pregnant women, beginner and advanced yoga students. Her passion and accessibility made her a recognized and beloved teacher at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Mexico City where she taught for six and a half years. Claudia now lives in Merida where she works as a teacher and director of Semilla Yoga. She is currently preparing for her third international certification.
Haley Jo Honeman
Actress
Haley combines her enthusiasm, non-stop energy, and passion for her most recent role to create a fun, dynamic learning environment that energizes and inspires our guests. She will be leading us on a journey through a past where Mayan legends come alive and serve as invaluable inspiration during our collage workshops.
Haley interest and talents include Slacklining, Jazz, Modern, Tap, Ballet, Eating with chopsticks, Theater Games, Theater of the Oppressed.
Dialects: Minnesotan, English
A few acting roles in Haley's repertoire include:
- Romeo and Juliet
Prince’s Assistant
Four Humors Theatre Company - Vagina Monologues
Coochi Snorcher
MPIRG - The Pope and the Witch
Friar/Drug Addict
University Of Minnesota - Frankenstein in Love
Creature
Xperimental Theatre - A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Snug
University of Minnesota - Cinderella
Joy
A Center for the Arts - Songs from the Tall Grass
Vinnie Ream/Chorus
A Center for the Arts