Puerto Vallarta News: Art
Art and Sustainability in Mexico
Along with local endeavors, like Mosayko Vallarta, and their beautification around town, especially in Parque Lazaro Cardena, we are beginning to see modern touches in Puerto Vallarta that combine art and sustainability. Guma is the brand name of products made by Alejandro Curi Chávez, an innovative Mexican designer who has made it his mission to create designs using recycled material. Guma states on their website “The development of the products is based on the properties of recycled rubber, and is carried out through the creation of an innovative processed that are friendly to the environment. Through design we seek to expand the applications of this material, taking advantage of its qualities, seeking constant innovation in collaboration with different disciplines.”
Taking an old idea, the sole of the Mexican huarache sandal, Curi and other fashion designers created the concept for a mechanism that converts old tires, just as the original huarache was made, but even better. The idea was to place these machines throughout Mexico in areas where anyone can use them. The genius behind this uses recycling to make new shoes for practically nothing. Everyone loves and can wear huaraches and now everyone can afford them, too. In the past few years, the marketability has put prices higher than in the past.
The applications for recycling of plastics and rubber are endless. Curi’s training at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology in New York) enabled him to join in on some incredible programs, including one referred to as Cross Pollination, an idea that was fomented with the mixing of materials for practical applications. Chairs, benches, playgrounds are some of the results, and now this Mexican designer is exhibiting his pieces in Mexico City, London and Dubai, all in high visibility events.
Curi has furthered the shoe concept and combined efforts with the famous Mexican shoe designer Oveja Calzado, as well as another designer, Taller Nu. Together they are introducing sustainable footwear that we hope to soon see for sale in Puerto Vallarta. We look forward to being a part of and contributing to this method of Social Change.
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