Witty Inventions
There was a time, during the stock market crash of the year 2000, which was further worsened by the events of 9/11, when my family and I went poor. I keep bittersweet memories of waking up at midnight, sweating with worries and fear. Many of you know the feeling I am sure, and other may come to know it in the near future, which now looks so bleak. Yet, I remember the coziness I found in the dark when nobody could see me and how I knelt to pray. From the bottom of my earthly worries about bills to pay and responsibilities to meet I would rise to heavenly realms of peace and wonder. Never had I been so worried and never had I cherished my faith so, for it brought me much needed calm. Family life also became very meaningful, because we critically depended on each other.
It was during this difficult stage of my life that I received “0ut of the blue” two enlightening statements. The first one was by brought to me by Everardo, a musician and composer friend: “The answer to your problem” he said, “is in your own name: Fe-de-rico” (three words produced by parting my first name) which in Spanish come to mean “Faith of a Richman”. This I will never forget! It stuck to me, in the same way my own name did. The second statement came out of an English Bible read to me by Eduardo, a member of the church we were attending: Proverbs 8:27 “I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions”. I did not immediately grasp what this verse could mean, but something in my heart made me believe there, inside, lay some hidden treasure. In the darkness before dawn I pondered on what it could mean...until it came to me.
 In Vallarta I had become familiar with “Silent Auctions”. The kind where artistic items are displayed while the bidders walk around jotting their offers on a piece of paper. At the end, the highest bidder to each piece buy it. So, if there were silent auctions, why couldn’t there also be “Invisible Auctions”? Now there was a Witty Invention. Since I did not have the money for materials, nor the time to produce the numerous paintings needed to put on a decent art show, I decided to invite people who were seriously interested in art to participate in an auction where my paintings could not be seen, because they were not yet painted. However they were guaranteed to receive a painting worth at least $4,000USD for the bargain price of $2,000USD, 50% to be paid right there and the balance upon satisfactory delivery within the next months. Sixteen people took me on this; most of them Americans. Here I must give credit to a nation that has been distinguished for its ingenuity! Although some Canadians and Mexicans also did come through.
The amount received permitted me to continue construction of my “Estudio-Café” as it now stands in the Nuevo Vallarta marina waterline, and to survive until the new season bloomed. I delivered the paintings one by one, receiving the additional benefit of many a friendship that has endured time. I was enriched in more ways than one. Someday I wish to add the names of the art patrons that were part of my invisible auction, a truly Witty Invention, many of them which still live in Vallarta. While I get each one’s approval for publication -you people reading know who you are: please know how grateful I still am. Email to a friend.
Federico León de la Vega
E-mail: fleondelavega@prodigy.net.mx
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Author Note: This is a chapter of a book I am writing about my adventures as a painter artist.
The Federico León de la Vega Estudo – Café is open to the public and is located in Paseo de la Marina 31, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sundays from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
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