The long tradition of Tlaquepaque Mexican Presidents figurines

Last month a very good friend of mine and owner of one of the best collections on Mexican Folk Art asked me to help him complete his collection of Vintage Tlaquepaque Mexican Presidents figurines. In the past I had seen them on museums and books like "Ceramica Mexican pottery of the 20th Century" but I had never own one. My friend had in his collection 22 figurines dating fromt he 1930's and 1940's with presidents from the 1910's (Porfirio Diaz) to the 1940s's. So my task was to help him find the rest of the presidents from the 1940's to todays (that makes up another 33 Presidents!!!).
Making some research with my friends and contacts in Museums of Mexico, I was able to find the Nunez (Nuñez) family in Tlaquepaque Mexico. The main living artists of this family are Margarito Nuñez (80 years old) and Pilar Nuñez (daugther of Margarito Nuñez). Between the 2 of them have been keeping the tradition of making Mexican Presidents, a tradition that started Margarito Nuñez Panduro (father of Margarito Nuñez) back in the 1915. But this tradition of making figurines did not started with the series of "Mexican Presidents", actually the tradition started with Margaritos grand grand father Pantaleon Panduro (the guy in the black and white photo). Master Pantaleon (1830-1912) its a folk art legend from the late 1800's, and actually there it is a museum and a street with his name in Tlaquepaque Mexico. Pantaleon its father of Maura Panduro, Maura its the mother of Margarito Nuñez Panduro, Margarito is father of Margarito Jr and Margarito Jr its the father of Pilar.
Getting back to the "Mexican Presidents" Margarito Nuñez Panduro in 1915 started with the figurine of Mexican President "Benito Juarez" and as time went by he keep adding and adding more presidents till his death, the last Mexican President that he made was Adolfo Lopez Mateos. Margarito Nuñez Jr (now 80 years old) keep the tradition and he added the next presidents as time has gone from President "Ruiz Cortinez" to current Mexican President "Felipe Calderon". Pilar, daughter of Margarito saw that before Benito Juarez there where also many other presidents!, so she now completed the collection from the First Mexican Emperor once Mexico became independent from Spain adding up another 30 presidents and 2 emperors to the collection.
If you are interested on buying pieces of the Mexican Presidents collection, please get in touch with us at mexfolkarts@yahoo.com.mx, the Nuñez family has the originals antique and vintage molds of the same figurines that you see in books and museums.
Tha last photos show Margarito Nuñez with a miniature Tibor mold made by his grand grand father Pantaleon Panduro. The tibor shows that bust of current mexican President from those days "Porfirio Diaz".
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