The day after Thanksgiving is touted as the biggest shopping day of the year, but skip the mobs at the department stores this year. Instead, head to the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen for a new take on holiday shopping. This Friday through Sunday, from 10am-5pm, visitors will have the chance to peruse shelves of authentic Mexican folk art, a perfect opportunity to find home decorations and gifts for family members and friends.

Mercado Navideño, translated as “Christmas market,” harkens to the street markets found in Germany and Austria in celebration of the holiday. While it will be held inside the museum’s confines rather than the thoroughfares of Pilsen, it nonetheless promises the same variety found in any Christkindlmarkt. Past Mercados Navideños have showcased colorful weavings and fabrics, delicately painted figurines, sturdy pieces of pottery, intricate carvings, gorgeous jewelry, and books on Mexican food and culture. This year promises a unique collection of goods crafted by regional artists in Mexico, guaranteeing a collection of offerings that will make an impression to gift buyers and recipients alike.

Entry to the museum and the market is free, and as an added bonus, members of the museum can receive 30% off on all purchases on Friday between 10am-12pm and 25% off on the other days and times. Even if holiday shopping is not high on your to-do list right now, a quick visit will still leave you with an inside look at a rich and diverse collection of crafts and wares. Plus, those still hungry for more Mexican art can stop by the museum and take a stroll through the museum’s current exhibition, especially Claro y Oscuro featuring Chicago artist Elsa Muñoz and closing the same day that the market opens.

In one visit, you can get a helping of beautiful things, burn some calories, avoid the crazy mobs, and find the gifts that will make your gift recipients the envy of every holiday party. What better way to start of the holiday shopping season and digest your Thanksgiving meal than to dive into Mercado Navideño?

National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. (312)738-1503. Free. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

Courtesy of Gordito1869/Wikimedia Commons

Three days ago in our very own Chicago, a grand event took place. One that had been widely publicized, even garnering an event page on the prestigious Facebook. What am I talking about? Did Obama come to Hyde Park? Not exactly. I’m referring to Una Noche de Paella, at which Mexican Consul Eduardo Arnal Palomero indeed played chef for the day at the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), cooking up some of his delicious paella.

Let’s first get down to the facts. A rice dish (in simplest terms), paella is traditional to the Valencia region of Spain, and generally contains vegetables, seasonings, seafood, meat, beans…and obviously rice. It is famous for being cooked in a large, round, shallow pan—an all-too important fact since the dish got its name from the Latin term patella meaning pan, although many Arabic-speaking nations take the credit, citing their own بقية (baqiyya), meaning leftovers (which they would essentially mix together in a Moorish dish similar to the paella), as paella’s real etymological ancestor.

To my own knowledge, Palomero has not won any prizes in paella-making. The official Guinness World Record holder for the world’s largest paella is still Juan Galbis, who made a dish that fed roughly 100,000 people back in 1992 (picture above). Galbis then broke his own record in 2001, that time feeding 110,000 people. It should be noted that this accomplishment was entirely self-proclaimed by Galbis on his website and not supervised by any Guinness specialists. Maybe Palomero was trying to bring the paella back to the global spotlight, perhaps even claim Galbis’ unrivaled title? It would make sense, seeing as the paella has lost its competitive charm over the years. It is commonly considered merely a delicious main course dish without any competitive appeal. Even hot dogs have a better competitive reputation than paella!

With NMMA’s emphasis on Palomero’s “delicious” paella, they could have also been trying to put out the message that not only can paella last as a competitive art, but it can also prosper in the sphere of subjective competitions, up there with Iron Chef and the UK’s National Chili Awards’ Amateur Sauce Contest. Or “delicious” paella, rather than “average” paella or just “paella,” was a better business move to get more people to attend. Who wants to pay $125 for “average” paella? You better be getting something “delicious”! Since the NMMA is “a first voice institution for the Mexican community,” perhaps this event was Mexico’s way of challenging Spain in claiming the better tasting dish. But Palomero simply could have wanted to spend some quality time with and befriend Chicago residents. As the saying has it, the way to someone’s mind is through their belly.

Uh-oh! Looks like Palomero has some competition, as professional chef Ayo makes what Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi calls “the best paella”:

I would have done some hardcore investigative journalism on this story, but how awkward would it have been to call the NMMA and say: “Hello. I would like to inquire as to why Mr. Eduardo Arnal Palomero has been invited to cook me and my friends his ‘delicious’ paella? What exactly are his qualifications to act as chef? And what makes his paella so ‘delicious’?” So I’ll leave it a mystery—plus, who doesn’t love a good mystery? Why was the Mexican Consul brought to cook his special paella? Was it simply an act of altruism?  Were there other intentions?  I guess we’ll never really know.

Hannah Fullmer

I stared at the painting for nearly ten minutes. I didn’t move or blink; I just stared. I must have looked a bit ridiculous with my neck bent, head tilted far back so I could take in the whole painting at once, but I was entranced. A canvas, which stretched floor to ceiling, featured an intricate white skull, highlighted by neon yellow, blue and pink. The black light installed just above the canvas intensified the three hues. The painting was captivating, and, like most of the artwork in the 25th Annual Dia de los Muertos Exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art, it was hauntingly beautiful.

The exhibit collected Day of the Dead related artwork by artists from across the country and Mexico, featuring vibrant artwork in a variety of media: sculptures, paintings, needlework, and wall installations, to name a few. In one installation, twenty or thirty clay body bag tags hung from white ribbon of varying lengths, creating a cloud dripping to the floor.

Hannah Fullmer

Another portion of the exhibit included examples of altars created in the same manner as those erected for the real Day of the Dead holiday. These altars were produced by artists and commemorated local individuals and important other figures in the artists’ life that have passed away. Other facets of the exhibit include a community commemoration wall which allows museum-goers to post a small note on the wall remembering a loved one. Finally, visitors could also watch a demonstration on how sugar skulls are made. Afterwards, sugar skulls were available for purchase from the gift shop, with the option to have them personalized for a small wait.

Overall, the Day of the Dead exhibit was a beautiful and interesting sampling of Mexican artwork and more importantly Mexican character and culture. If you find that you have spare time on an upcoming November weekend, head to Pilsen and soak up some of the artwork this museum has to offer.

National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. (312)738-1503. Free. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org