Zona Maco: to start...

The Zona Maco 2019 has just been inaugurated with one hundred and eighty exhibitors from twenty-two countries, parallel to the nine version of Zona Maco Diseño. As usual, next to the exhibitions there will be an extensive program of lectures, another of performances and a section with specialized publications and editorials, which once again includes the stand of Arte por Excelencias, located very close to the entrance from pavilion 7 of the Citibanamex Convention Center, in the Lomas de Sotelo, next to the National Hippodrome of Mexico.

It could be said that this time we share a privileged position, facing the pavilions of Art Nexus, Terremoto, Arquine and Wowsbooks, and flanked by ArtTheorica and dna magazines.

The Servando and El Apartamento galleries also occupy places of exception, and Galería Continua is one of the most visited pavilions. Arte por Excelencias has congratulated the artists René Francisco and Leandro Feal, among other representatives of the largest of the Antilles.

The appointment of this year has been divided into numerous sessions, among which are those of design and photography, as well as new proposals and those always expected of modern art. To applaud, the inquisitive look on social problems, which is already a hallmark of distinction in any of the routes that visitors draw.

The conference program is like not to put the pen away. The organizers and the accredited media do not fail to highlight the presence of Gleen D. Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Eugenio López, president of the Jumex Foundation; and  Bob Colacello, ex-editor of Interview magazine, founded by the iconic artist Andy Warhol.

Despite the consensus that this edition has missed some other relevant gallery, it is still important the public call that draws this appointment of art. The mass media attest to this and assist with a broad representation of press organs in Mexico and other countries.

The not insignificant distance between the entrance of the pavilion that receives Zona Maco and the general entrance of Citibanamex, makes the journey of more than half a kilometer very "democratic" for this writer. Sit in one of the banks of the wide corridor is to enjoy a variegated sample of nationalities, ages and artistic trends, shining the latter from the kind of catwalk that becomes this well designed space with the parade of participants, guests and the general public.

In the three years that Arte por Excelencias has attended this meeting, we have drawn attention to the fact that the border between the market and art is diffusing rapidly. The curator Tania Ragasol, artistic director of Zona Maco, has told Excelsior that the sixteen years of existence of the Zona Maco has contributed to creating a solid market for contemporary art in Mexico. «Encourage collecting is still the axis. It has grown a lot, but its needed to be more stimulated. I think we are in a privileged place not only geographically. Maco continues to exist because there is an art market in Mexico».

And in Mexico City there is still everything. As you walk through the streets in the endless line of cars and buses that make the transfer already painful from one point to another, the contrast between opulence and poverty is evident, which suggests the difficult task before himself the recently released president Manuel López Obrador. Yesterday, at a traffic light, we saw an excellent circus artist doing his own thing in search of some coins. And although it is the juggling of art to which we will refer in the coming days, it is worth remembering that art is also painted with scenes like that.