I don't know much about Catalina Martines Benito because she speaks very little Spanish. When interacting with her, I speak Spanish and her granddaughter translates it into the Purepecha Indian dialect.

Catalina tells me she has been creating the handmade "devil figures" the women of her village have become famous for since she was a girl. In her small home, she proudly exhibits her handcrafted folk art - brightly painted exotic animals, people or mythical figures. She embraces all themes in her handicraft from Day of the Dead to beautiful giant rosaries, one of which I have hanging above my fireplace.

Almost all the women in Catalina's pueblo make the handcrafted devil figures. It's difficult to drive through town with many of the artisans running from their homes to ask you to come in and see their work, each hoping for their share of your time and money. The day I happened upon Catalina, I knew I had struck gold.

Catalina exhibited her work at the 2005 Fería Maestros del Arte in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico. She does not drive so I found another artisan willing to help bring her to Ajijic.

All of the artists at the show stay with local families. Catalina's family had a funny story to tell: They made her waffles each morning, something Catalina had never even seen before. When they asked her what she would like for dinner, she said "waffles." When Catalina went home, she had proudly packed the family's waffle iron in her belongings - they had given it to her as a gift. On my next visit to her home, I'm interested to learn how, and if, she was able to make waffles on her own. Most likely, she was the "hit" of her village.

If you are interested in purchasing some of Catalina's work, call Marianne Carlson at 011522 376 765 7485 or email mariannecarlson@gmail.com

    (Our thanks to Norm Tihor for the use of his photographs)