Text By Robert Adams
Photos by Gael Medina and Robert Adams
Forty-five years of living in Merida have taught renowned artist Georgia Charuhas many things about Mexico and Mexicans, about art, about business, and about herself.
The Chicago native, who has shown her paintings, prints and sculptures in many important galleries and museums in the U.S., Mexico and Europe, has also founded and owned several businesses in Merida, including a clothing factory that manufactured items based on her designs.
She has bought and renovated eight historic houses in Merida’s Centro, including one in the Santiago neighborhood that she listed for sale last week that sold the next day. In addition to her own home in Santiago where she has lived for 23 years, she still owns two other homes that she rents to tourists and also makes available to her visiting guests.
Previously, for 15 years, she lived in a spacious property on Calle 55 that originally served as a 17th century Roman Catholic convent, and now houses the boutique hotel Luz en Yucatan.
“I could write encyclopedias” about Mexico property ownership, Charuhas said in an exclusive interview in her home, where she currently is recuperating from sciatica.
Her most crucial advice for would-be Mexican real estate investors? “Have a good sense of humor and stay healthy.”
Elaborating, she notes that Merida’s sub-tropical climate can be harsh on older homes. “In the tropics, things go bad quickly,” she said in a characteristic deadpan tone. “If you close the door to go away for a month, you can return to find tree roots inside the house.”
Charuhas attributes her success in life and as a property owner to her art training at the Art Institute of Chicago. “You can apply art to many things – clothes, interiors…” she reflected. “The key is the aesthetic quality.”
She continued: “I love making homes for someone else. I renovate the property as if I were going to live there myself. I’ve bought and sold a lot of houses, but I never bought them to ‘flip’ them… I’m not a commercial person.”
Her take on Merida’s current vogue among Americans, Canadians, Europeans and others buying property and relocating here: “You should live in Mexico because you love Mexico. Don’t live here because you want to make a buck.”
The qualities of Merida and Yucatan that attracted and have kept Charuhas here for more than 40 years are its peacefulness, family-centered values and wholesome atmosphere.
“I am an American born in the States, but I like living someplace without so much violence and racial differences,” she commented. “Here I feel more of a human being.”
Charuhas originally moved to Mexico’s Pacific coast in the late 1960s after marrying. She came to Merida in the mid-1970s after the marriage failed. “I married a very wealthy man, but I wasn’t interested in money. I left without anything. So I had to build a business for myself. And I found out I like being my own boss.”
The living room of her Calle 51 home is filled with her paintings, drawings, prints, collages and sculptures. While her two studios in the rear are not open, Charuhas is considering opening a gallery at the residence that would be available by appointment only.
A major exhibition focusing on Charuhas’ collages opened Jan. 26 at the MACAY Museum on Merida’s Plaza Grande. The show is on display through May.
