n 1976, Juan Quezada was discovered by Spencer MacCallum, an American anthropologist, who
had found some of Juan's pots in a curio store in New Mexico. Spencer took photos of the pots to the
city of Nuevo Casas Grandes and inquired as to whether anyone had information regarding the
maker of these pots. He was told that the potter might be found in Mata Ortiz. Expecting to meet a
woman (the tradition in many cultures is for women to make pottery), Spencer was surprised to find
Juan Quezada, then an unknown, self-taught ceramic artist of incredible talent. Spencer helped to
establish Juan as a major ceramic artist in the United States through exhibitions and workshops, and
now, after years of laboring in fields and orchards, cutting wood and working for the railroad, Juan has
achieved world-wide recognition. Many of his pieces are in major museums and private collections
around the world.
ata Ortiz is situated between the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad and the Palanganas River, 20
miles south of the Paquime ruins. The village was first established as a work camp when the railroad
was being expanded deeper into Mexico. Later, for some years there was an operating lumber mill in
Mata Ortiz which exploited timber from the nearby Sierra Madre mountains, and in the 1930's a
railroad repair yard was established there.
The lumber industry and the railroad provided the villagers with jobs through the years, as well as the nearby fruit orchards of Colonia Juarez, a Mormon settlement that developed at the turn of the century as a major agricultural and ranching industry in one of the most fertile areas of northern Chihuahua. The orchards are still a source of income for many who are not potters.
