Tanya Talamante

Tanya-Talamante | Baja Traveler

Tanya Talamante

No Stranger to the BAJA Art World  or to the BajaTRAVELER® 

By Stacie Gottsegen  |  Photos by Bernardo Arce/ BernardoArce.com

As a resident of Los Cabos for over 20 years, Talamante has seen first-hand how dirt roads became two-lane highways and how property values soared.  Despite the tourist boom that includes celebrity weddings and new developments, she still finds a respite here.

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Because of Talamante’s day-to-day interactions with people who visit Mexico for the first time and fall in love with it, she could be considered an ambassador of sorts. “We give our best, we treat our visitors with respect, and we welcome them knowing that they will tell friends about Mexico and their experiences.”

As one of the premiere artists in the BAJA region, she continues to create and explore her visions.

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Her most recent exhibit was at the One&Only Palmilla and it was all about underwater scenes and sensations. She based the exhibit on a painting she did in 1998 called “mi mundo submarine.” It wasn’t until 2015 that she continued with the rest of the paintings. She is honored and humbled to be the first artist in residence to show at the One&Only Palmilla.

What inspired her?
It all began when she joined an open water swimming group. She explained to BajaTraveler® what an amazing experience it was for her to let go and address her long fear of the ocean. When she was swimming she did not see what was in front or around her …she was just able to move forward, trusting her stroke and knowing that she would get to the shore. All her life she had been scared of swimming in the ocean. In her teens she competed in swimming contests, but only in swimming pools.

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As she swam, all her feelings and memories started to appear and come back to her… enveloping her like the ocean. When she finished, she had her sketchbook and wrote or drew what she experienced daily.

Most of the inspiration comes from her swims in the magical water of the Baja peninsula.

With a mother who was an interior designer and a father who was an engineer, Tanya Talamante’s path could have followed in either of those footsteps. But when her mother hired one of her illustrators to teach a 9-year old Talamante art and painting, the magic of it filled her spirit.

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“That’s when my love story with art began,” says Talamante. That love story inspired Talamante to follow her passion. Now she owns the Tanya Talamante Art School and Gallery in the beautiful Villa Valentina in San José del Cabo and another studio at the One&Only Palmilla resort.

She has also embraced the art of furniture making as another way of expressing herself. Working with her family as she began her career taught her about materials and the manufacturing process. In 2006 she opened a concept store called “Palia” in downtown Scottsdale, AZ.

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For Tanya, it was a treat designing furniture and sourcing suppliers. The store sold curated items from Mexico circa 1970’s so she was able to work with a lot of design firms in Mexico and the U.S. that produced her designs. The Four Season’s did a big remodel that year and Palia was one of the suppliers of furniture for the venue.

She devours her culture – from food to museums and everything in between. We asked her to tell us about her perfect day in Baja.
For Tanya, the perfect day begins waking up at 6am and having a mango smoothie.* She’ll get her 2 kids ready for school and then go for a swim. Breakfast is at La Panaderia with her friends and is the perfect way to ease into the day before going to the One&Only Palmilla to paint.

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After she takes her kids to classes, a 20 minute nap is her perfect siesta.

She would have a delicious home cooked meal with her family and then paint some more in her studio at Villa Valentina.

To finish the perfect day, it’s got to be her dad’s famous carne asada and a margarita.

She’d go to bed thinking, “wow I get to do this again tomorrow”…

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For the person who has never been to the Peninsula there are some of TT’s MUST DO’s:

  • You MUST go to Pescadero, Todos Santos and La Paz  – They have a new toll road and it is worth it in Cabo San Lucas the best kept secret is Blue Fish Sushi with Master sushi maker Memo.
  • In San José del Cabo visit El Lugareño inside Villa Valentina. It is open for breakfast and lunch 100% recommended… and extra plus, VV is amazing, plus her gallery is there!

Her honorable mentions include ACRE restaurant and La Lupita.

Her new favorite is Louic’s Oyster Bar inside Casa Natalia Hotel and her pick for “hidden gem” is La Panaderia.

For Tanya, it is a sweet and full life that lets her creative spirit soar with no limits at all – as long as she follows her philosophy: to live a simple and meaningful life, help out as much as you can and give thanks for each new day.

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