Humans of La Manzanilla - Domitilo & his Father

Posted by David Dagoli on January 10, 2015, 12:05 pm
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Domitilo (Domi) is one of the best palaperos in this area. You will see his shop and family home with a large palapa as you enter La Manzanilla on the lefthand side within a block of the highway crucero. Domi has lived here for 30 years (he's 52), arriving with his family from Zihuatenejo in 1984. He has 4 daughters and one son - his daughter Blanca is a mesera at Cafe Risa. He's been making palapas for 20 years, first apprenticing with a maestro from San Raphael (near Tuito on the way to PV). His new style of weaving the leaves of the 'Palma Real' is called 'Petatillo'. . This makes the under part of the palapa roof look like an intricately woven basket. An interesting fact: Domi's daughter Blanca is married to the Mayor's son, and Domi's brother (and master palapero also) Chencho is married to the Mayors daughter. Domi just finished a beautiful palapa at our house, where I took this photo: Macario is Domi's father, who lives with his wife Maria de La Luz in Los Ingenios, just across the highway from La Manz. Macario is 73, and his wife Maria is known for making traditional tortillas made from hand ground corn, grown in fields around la Manzanilla (perhaps the subject of another posting later). Both Domi and his dad are the coolest, macho characters- they remind me of Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western. I could only hope to be so cool... They took us on a wood-finding hike up into the jungle on their land in the hills far above Boca de Iguanas, where I took this photo.

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