Each morning Uncle rolled out huge dusty towers of fresh flour tortillas for his boys and served them hot with butter and salt for breakfast, or if he was feeling daring, with peanut butter. —Nothing like a hot peanut butter taco and a cup of coffee, Uncle said.

♦♦♦

In 1915 more than half of the Mexican-American population emigrated from the Valley of Texas into war-torn Mexico fleeing the Texas Rangers, rural police ordered to suppress an armed rebellion of Mexican Americans protesting Anglo-American authority in South Texas. Supported by U.S. cavalry, their bullying led to the death of hundreds, some say thousands of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, who were executed without trial. The end result was that Mexican-owned land was cleared, allowing development by Anglo newcomers. So often were Mexicans killed at the hands of the “Rinches,” that the San Antonio Express-News said it “has become so commonplace” that “it created little or no interest.” Little or no interest unless you were Mexican.

From Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

In the summer of 2008, I studied art history and drawing in Italy. Afterward, I decided to visit Spain and stay a week in Barcelona. It was the perfect opportunity to visit the German Pavilion of Bauhaus designer Mies van der Rohe, which was a longtime dream of mine. The Pavilion houses my absolute favorite piece of modern design, the Barcelona Chair, which continues to inspire me to this day.

When I was a just a boy of twelve, I wanted nothing more than to sit in my bedroom all day and play Nintendo games. I also stayed up late at night drawing and watching reruns of The Fall Guy. I was entering that pre-teen phase where I just wanted to be holed up in my room all day, away from the adults, away from the children, doing my own thing.

I typically sat on the floor, hunched over my work and straining my neck upwards to watch the screen of my 13″ Emerson. My dad saw my poor posture and decided to get me something to sit on. At the time, he really enjoyed going to local auctions and picking up interesting items on the cheap. This is where he found a collection of art books and supplies from the ’40s that helped me transition from drawing Ninja Turtles to figures in repose. This is where he found me the perfect chair.

He couldn’t have paid more than $20. It was the perfect size for my room. It was about three feet wide and sat two comfortably. The only defect was one of the leather straps beneath seat cushion was broken, but could have easily been stitched back around the chrome frame. I loved this comfortable chair, but when it came time to move, it somehow got left behind. I didn’t worry because my parents still owned the old house which sat vacant for several months. But the house was soon rented out, and the chair was never reclaimed.

Several years passed and I came across a book on home furnishings at a garage sale. There I saw my chair pictured and listed as the Barcelona Chair, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Barcelona. Designed at the height of the Bauhaus movement, the Barcelona Chair remains one of the most stylish and elegant pieces of modern design.

As you can imagine, the loss of my own Barcelona Chair has weighed heavily on me for years. Currently, an authentic Barcelona Chair ranges from $4500 – $5600. And a vintage Barcelona Chair, like mine, may fetch more than that.

For years, the chair has been a source of inspiration for my pursuit of art and design. And I hope to one day be able to own another.

By MŪV*MƏNT on flickr

Pictured above are two vintage Barcelona Chairs dating from the 1960s,
matching the size and color of my own lost Barcelona Chair.

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