In the Art District with Ivan Guaderrama

San Jose del Cabo is a place of inspiration.

Hemingway and Steinbeck walked these streets decades ago when it was little more than a fishing village.

Today, a whole new generation of artists has settled here, soaking in the beauty and tranquility of this little colonial village on the edge of the Sea of Cortes.

I made it a priority to meet one of those artists, a gentle, warm young man named Ivan Guaderrama.

Even before we moved here I was taken aback by his art.

It began when we flew down to look for a place to live. We wandered the Art District of San Jose del Cabo one day, taking in the beauty created by the assemblage of world-class artists who have opened galleries here.

There's one place that has my wife's favorite piece -- a woman reaching out to a classical guitar, done in soft Earth tones.

But, the gallery that we absolutely fell in love with was Ivan's.


The 26-year-old from Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico is a sensory explorer.

He has developed new methods of mixing paints and resins to create works on glass and canvas. He uses a variety of media to create sculptures of the human form, from body castings to hands intertwined.

No matter which media he uses there is a softness, a gentleness as real as the humanity in his soft green eyes.

One of his first body castings was of a pregnant woman.

"It was of her body from the neck to her lower belly," he says softly. "Two years later, she came back with her little daughter. It was very emotional."

Emotion and passion play a huge part of Ivan's work.

There are images of hearts; discarded musical instruments given new life as part of his art. There's a mix of calm and intensity that come together in colors and tones that, he says, are brightening as his work evolves.

He came to San Jose del Cabo about six months before we did, fell in love with it for many of the same reasons we did, found his peace here.

He's not a painter, he's not a sculptor, he's an artist and make no mistake, there is a huge difference. Profit inspires the painters and sculptors, passion fuels artists. He reminds me, in so many ways, of one of my other favorite artists, Carlos Santana. He is humble, his work comes directly from his heart, each piece carries a bit of his soul.

Ivan will be a lead story in an expanded version of my weekly broadcast on Utah Public Radio, coming soon. He will also be the subject of a piece I will submit to MexConnect, the most-read website about Mexico on the Internet. I will fill you all in on Facebook and here when those pieces are complete and ready for broadcast and publication.

But, I couldn't wait to share just a little of my visit with my newest friend.