ePruettMexicanArt

The Story of Mexico©

                The sun rose early in the Caribbean and I was in its path.  It was hot and I was wet; my shirt was soaked, my muscles bulged from my shirt, my skin was burnt, sweat pouring from my brow and I stank like a pig. My name is ‘Me’. 

This is my luck; I was working next to the most beautiful woman in the sugarcane field. What was worse than smelling me? I could smell her old sweat but she still looked good.  I soon got past the smell. I asked her to share dinner and rum with me tonight.  She asked, “Where are you going to take me, someplace nice I hope”. I thought if love would be my goal, I needed to show her a good time.  This is the 1880’s and women know what they want and how to have a good time.  I thought I would take her to the new cantina in the village that had running water.  This would seal my evening of love!

I picked her up on my donkey from her mud hut. I told her it is the fastest donkey on the island and this seemed to impress her. I told her I was taking her to the largest village in the West Indies that was the most modern village for it’s time. They had two-wheeled carts pulled by horses.

We arrived at the cantina and began dancing, eating and drinking for hours and I had to pee. So I told my woman that I was going to step out side for a minute. I had drank a lot, I felt as if I would never stop. I fixed my pants, washed my face and wet my long hair to keep it out of my face.  When I re-entered the cantina, my woman was no where to be found. I asked the innkeeper if he saw my woman.  He told me that an old rich man walked in and offered her money and a ride in his cart.  I thought she went for a ride, she would be back soon.

I waited all night for her return.  As morning approached, the innkeeper said, “I forgot.  She left this for you.”  It was a note on a piece of wood. It read, “Me, this man offered me two pieces of silver for me to stay the month with him.  You smell like a goat so don’t bother waiting for me.”  Angrily, I ran as fast as I could back through the jungle. I would never show my face there again.  I continued to run and broke through the jungles hold.  I saw a pier glistening and took it as my answer to get away.  There were great ships there so I planned to steal one and sail to uncharted lands.

Again, as my luck would have it, somehow my donkey found me. I took his rope and went looking for a ship. There were men standing guard at all the ships but I found a canoe unguarded.  I thought my luck had turned because it was full of food and water. After pushing and digging to free the canoe from its hold, I then had the chore to load my donkey.  I couldn’t leave him behind; especially since he was the fastest donkey in town and I might need a fast get-away.  I headed west.

While searching through the supplies, I found a mast and a sail. I remembered seeing a hole in the front of the canoe and put the mast into the hole fastening the sail together. I arrived at a new land; burnt and smelly again but this time alone. Thinking to myself how I needed a woman, I headed inland.  I did see some inhabitants however there were no females!  This was not the place for me.  I continued riding for weeks it seemed.  I approached a “T” in the path that lead to an old mud hut. 

I decided to make this my home and my new beginning.  Days passed and somehow other people found their way to my new home.  Asking my permission to make their homes near mine; it seamed to grow on a daily basis.  This area grew from two trails meeting to buildings everywhere. Now that it is 1885, the village is much larger and needed a name.  I thought for weeks about my journey; Me, X (crossing), In Canoe Oversea.  That was it!  The first letter of each word would not only name the new city but also tell my story. I built an arch over the road from my house and painted my beautiful MEXICO on the sign.

The only thing that could make my new home even better is a woman. About that time a loud voice woke me from my siesta. It was my wife. I was dreaming of my journey and the beginning of MEXICO.  My parents named me Juan Fernandez de Enciso but my friends call me, “Me”. This is my story, fact or fiction.  The choice is yours.

The artist, Earl W. Pruett uses soft sides with the technique that he has named “Run through Boarder” technique which brings the inner picture out through the boarder to incorporate two separate items, the boarder and the inner picture as one.  He uses bright, vibrant, complex color variations that bring both items to life.