Patzcuaro and Santa Clara del Cobre

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

We were up again at dawn – this time for a 5-hour bus ride from San Miguel to Patzcuaro in the cool wooded highlands of Michoacán. We love many places in Mexico, but Patzcuaro is a special favorite.

We always stay at Los Escudos, a comfortable and economical hotel on the beautiful Plaza Quiroga – one of the oldest and finest public spaces in the Americas. We also like to eat breakfast at the nearby Mansión Iturbe Hotel (another venerable hotel located in a former colonial mansion). It offers lots of hot coffee, wonderful fresh fruit, local specialties like “corundas,” and an accompanying assortment of pastries including old-fashioned “rosettes” like your aunt or grandmother used to make.


Today, we stopped at our hotel just long enough to check in. Then we walked to the intersection near the edge of the downtown, where we caught the bus for the copper village of Santa Clara del Cobre. Six pesos (less than 50 cents at today’s exchange rate) will take you the 15 miles or so to Santa Clara.

The annual Copper Fair is in full swing in Santa Clara. The plaza in front of the church is festooned with bright paper banners (“papel picado” like you see in Chiripa). A hundred colorfully-dressed dancers (some armed with little bows and arrows) ward off a scary array of costumed evil spirits -- all to the oompah sound of a brass band.

At the local Copper Museum, there is a stunning display of hand-hammered copper. These are works of the highest art – easily qualified for display in the world’s best museums. But they are all produced right here in Santa Clara, by artisans who devote months of labor to each piece. The artisans are competing against their friends and neighbors, and the rivalry is fierce. A first-place award is a great honor.

Most of the displayed works were far out of our price range, but we bought a number of other fine pieces from the Castro Hernandez family, which captured 2 of 5 prestigious first-place awards at this year’s show. You will soon be able to find these elegant pieces at Chiripa, at very reasonable prices.


We returned to Santa Clara the next morning. But today the Copper Fair was interrupted by rain. Not just the usual gentle mist – but a fearful deluge. At this altitude (Santa Clara sits at over 7,000 feet), the lightening and thunder make your hair stand on end. The rain hammered down, and torrents of water poured down the cobbled streets like mountain rivers. A woman swept at the tide rising over the curb, trying to keep it out of her shop.


Fortunately, the curbs are high, and many sidewalks are sheltered by deep overhanging roofs. For the most part, the people just took the deluge in stride.


To all appearances, Mexico is the same beautiful place as ever. But there are some storms raging, and some dark currents flowing beneath the surface. The state of Michoacán faces serious economic difficulties, and young men have emigrated in droves. Some of those who remain have been drawn into gangs and drug violence. We felt completely safe, and saw no evidence of the violence portrayed in the news media. But it is on the minds of many people here.

Over coffee, one business owner confided to us that she is careful about what she says at parties, because “you never know for sure who is involved in what.” Neither she nor her family have ever received any threats, but she hears rumors of extortion and “protection money” schemes. Even legitimate business success can cause resentment in hard-pressed communities. And in today’s climate, businesses are forced to lay off workers who have no safety net. Job losses are making everything worse.


Back in Patzcuaro, another deluge hit in the late afternoon. Waterfalls leaped from the overhanging roofs, slid down big banana leaves in interior courtyards, and splashed on the stone pavement. But melancholy Patzcuaro, with its 400-year-old adobe walls and red tile roofs, has endured many storms. It just hunkers down and waits. -JM August 12 and 13, 2009

Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

Shortly after dawn, we used the usual tongs and metal pan to make pastry selections at the bakery, and then walked to the bus station. We made it in time to get some coffee and catch the early bus to Dolores Hidalgo (birthplace of the movement that led to Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1810). At Dolores, we visited the shop of our trusted friend Estela Liceagui, and selected some nice Talavera ceramics for Chiripa. Estela was proud that President Obama was visiting Mexico that day.


We were back in San Miguel by noon. There we picked up some hand-painted tile, and ordered some of the latest painted tin creations from our friend Hector. We also picked up more items in the craft market. The rest of the afternoon was spent on another frantic struggle with cardboard boxes, packing tape, labels, etc. We carried the boxes ourselves, and delivered them to our cooperating shipper just in time. This is not glamorous work. But it is often necessary when you buy directly from artisans who are good at their craft, but unsophisticated when it comes to packing, consolidation and export. It lets us bring you hand-selected crafts that are available nowhere else, and ensures fair prices to the artisans (without the middle-man).

We were just starting to relax in our hotel room, after our packing struggle, when we heard a knock at the door. It was Ricardo, another fine tin artisan, responding to the phone message that we had left the day before.


We quickly gave up on any idea of relaxation, and went with Ricardo and his wife to their home workshop. Ricardo speaks a little English, so that made it (fairly) easy to agree on the details of our order.


Ricardo specializes in fine mirrors, and has been at his craft for many years. His children are grown, but on weekends he and his wife love to visit their grandchildren. Like other artisans we know, Ricardo confided that the current economy has had a serious effect on his business. So he was happy to catch us before we left San Miguel. -JM, August 11, 2009

San Miguel de Allende

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

After a welcome jolt of black coffee and a good breakfast (it was nearly noon), we caught a taxi to visit our friend Felix. Felix makes many of the cleverly worked tin stars, mirrors and other items that you see at Chiripa. He does this in his family’s modest home, in the rural Rancho Cienaga, several miles outside of San Miguel. Unfortunately, Felix has been without a telephone lately (telephones cost money), so we had the taxi take us unannounced to his residence.

Felix was there, and as happy to see us as we were to see him. We talked over our order (using our imperfect Spanish) and paid him in advance. We have always trusted our artisan friends to deliver, and they have not failed us once. Chiripa (“a stroke of luck”) has been lucky for them, and we hope for you too!

When we got back to town, we started our hunt in the San Miguel artisan market, where indigenous people (like our friends the Leyva family) offer a variety of interesting craft items.






These sellers do not pack for export, however, so we had to do that ourselves. The evening and part of the next day were occupied with cardboard boxes, tiny “Made in Mexico” stickers, bubble wrap (“burbuja”), packing tape and magic markers. Let’s hope it all gets to Wisconsin in one piece! -JM August 10, 2009

Note: It DID!

San Augustin Etla, Oaxaca, MX

Time has gotten away from me. All of the new shipment from Mexico is processed and on the shelf. Most of the holiday decorations are up. AND, if you are in the Madison area, stop by the shop on Saturday, Nov 21 for a Holiday Open House and a special offer on all angels. You'll find tin, clay, brass, and wood angels; all 20% off for one day only.

And now back to the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

"Eric and his younger sister Janet took us to the village of San Augustín Etla. The setting is beautiful. The moist valley has an exotic, tropical feel that is quite different from the city of Oaxaca. The abundance of water made this an important mill town and administrative center in the past. That is gone now, but an impressive building complex remains. A famous painter saved the decaying buildings and, with government help, transformed them into a modern architectural gem brought to life by water flowing throughout the hillside complex. It seems only a matter of time before this becomes a significant tourist destination.






A sculpture exhibit on display in the complex commemorates more than 2,000 individuals who emigrated from a single village in search of a better life in the U.S. None of them returned, and many died.


We spent a somewhat lazy Sunday afternoon in Oaxaca, revisiting the Women’s Cooperative and picking up a few last items for Chiripa. After supper, we said goodbye to our friend Kathy (who would stay another day before flying home). Then we walked to the bus depot and climbed on the midnight bus for Mexico City.

The night ride to Mexico City was uneventful, except for the military checkpoint where we had to climb out and watch while soldiers searched our baggage (nothing but dirty clothes in our case). We slept, and dawn found us in Mexico City’s Norte bus terminal. From there, we grabbed a bus to the lovely colonial town of San Miguel de Allende (a World Heritage site)." -JM August 9, 2009

Chicago Visit

We interrupt the Chiripa buying trip log to tell you about a fantastic opportunity in Chicago. The National Museum of Mexican Art is hosting a Folk Art Festival from now until Sunday, October 25.

We took the opportunity to drive down and visit two of our close Oaxaca friends who are part of this special exhibit and sale. Jacobo Angeles (carved and intricately painted wooden figures-alebrijes) and Bulmaro Perez (hand woven and naturally died wool rugs) have brought dozens of samples of their expert craftmanship.

Jacobo is always laughing;
he's holding on to the loom that Bulmaro shipped to the museum to demonstrate his craft.

If you have the opportunity to visit Chicago and the museum you won't find a better place to see their work in the Midwest (except at Chiripa, of course!) and to meet with the artist and learn about the natural die processes that they use. Please tell Jacobo and Bulmaro that we sent you! When the museum closed we took Jacobo and Bulmaro to dinner. They chose the cuisine (Mexican, of course) and we headed for Frontera Grill, the Rick Bayless restaurant on Clark St. in downtown Chicago.

Jacobo and Bulmaro at Frontera Grill, Chicago.

From the mezcal apartif and through the meal we caught up on each other's businesses and learned about their family traditions for the coming Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebrations. By chance, Rick was at the restaurant that night and Jacobo and Bulmaro were fortunate enought to meet him and invite him to their homes when he travels to Mexico. It was a very special night!

All camera's came out for the photo op with Rick Bayless.
Jacobo is holding some of his work.

I can't say enough good things about the National Museum of Mexican Art. This is the very best time to see it if you are interested in Dia de los Muertos. A large exhibit space is dedicated to altars (ofrendas) that honor individuals or groups of people who have passed beyond this world.

Other exhibitors at the Folk Art Festival: Guillermina Aguilar from Ocotlan, Oaxaca (clay figures); Miriam Castaneda from Xoxocotla, Morelos (paper Mache); Florentina Lopez de Jesus from Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero (back strap loom weaving); Jose Jorge Garcia from Oaxaca, Oaxaca (silver filigree jewelry) and the Mondragon Family from Toluca, Estado de Mexico (sugar skulls).

The Mondragon family comes to the museum a month before Dia de los Muertos to make 20,000 sugar skulls. They will write a name on the skull if you wish. The museum sells out.

The photogenic Gillermina Aguilar graciously consented to a photo.
Her family's work can be found at Chiripa.

It looks like a cold and rainy weekend ahead. Our Mexican friends are shivering. Go say hello from us and spread some warmth!

Arrazola

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

"Today we were on another old bus as it lurched out of Oaxaca’s noisy Abastos Market, headed for the village of Arrazola. Gears ground as the bus pounded its way over endless potholes and speed control bumps (“topes”), and stopped frequently to gain and lose passengers. The day already promised heat, and the bus was dark with dust and exhaust fumes. The short trip seemed endless, but at last we reached the village. On the distant heights above the town, we could see pyramids forming part of the spectacular pre-Columbian ruins of Monte Alban.

"Arrazola, like San Martín, is known for its painted wood carvings. But our initial impressions were not favorable. As we worked our way up the steep cobbled streets, ducking into family workshops, we found mainly mediocre work.


"But at last we stumbled into the workshop of Sergio Santiago. This was something different!



"The delightful figures seemed to come alive, and we had fun picking out a good selection for our Chiripa customers. If the figures survive the trip to Wisconsin (Ojalá!), you will soon see them at the shop. -JM Aug 8,2009

Ocotlan, San Martin Tilcajete, And More

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

"This morning we jumped off the bus and plunged into the busy Friday market in the village of Ocotlán. The market is teeming with country folk buying and selling aromatic peppers, fruits and vegetables, fresh cheese, live turkeys with feet tied together, hardware, clothing and other goods. You can still see lots of older women in traditional pleated skirts, embroidered blouses, aprons, headdresses and rebozos, and men in handmade straw sombreros. But when their generation is gone, you will probably see only machine-made baseball caps, T-shirts and jeans from China and Indonesia.


"On our way out of Ocotlán, we bought clay figurines at the cluttered multi-family households of the famous Aguilar sisters. Then we hopped on the bus, and headed down the road to the villages of Santo Tomás Jalietza (weaving on backstrap looms) and San Martín Tilcajete. We nearly lost Kathy when the bus started before she was fully on board, but she managed to stay upright and hang on. One passenger carried a handsome live chicken, in an open plastic bag, from the market in Ocotlán. The bus dropped us along the highway, so we hiked into town.


"San Martín is famous for colorfully-painted carved wooden figures called alebrijes, and in the village plaza many of the artisans had their works on display. We picked out a good selection, then walked down the rocky dirt street to our primary destination at the far end of the village – the home of Jacobo and Maria Angeles. These world class artisans produce exquisitely carved and painted alebrijes that raise the craft to the level of high art. You can see several fine examples of their work at Chiripa.


"We ended the day at the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec, home of the famous Oaxacan black pottery. Examples of the pottery are available at Chiripa." -JM Aug 7,2009

Gallery Night, Friday October 2

Enjoy extended hours and refreshments on Friday, October 2 from 5 until 9 p.m. as Chiripa participates in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art’s semi-annual Gallery Night.


One of our featured pieces will be this painting by Gregorio Mendez. We met Sr. Mendez in February while traveling to remote Cuetzalan, Puebla, Mexico.

Take this opportunity to bring in friends who’ve never been to Chiripa. We’ll be on hand to talk about the people who make the fine artisan crafts that we sell and to give information about the places where the art is made. With winter just around the corner, perhaps it’s time to plan that warm weather trip to Mexico. We’ll help you pick the spot.

Mitla, Rugs, and Trees

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

"We caught the familiar brown-and-yellow bus as it left the second-class bus depot in Oaxaca’s gritty Abastos Market (“abastos” means “provisions,” and thousands of people of limited means buy and sell daily necessities at this big market). We rode to the end of the line, and got off at the village of Mitla. The village is an important textile center, and is also the site of important pre-Columbian ruins.

KZ contemplates the plethora of patterns at Mitla.

The pattern we often see in rugs sold at Chiripa.

"On our return ride, we got off at Teotitlán del Valle, the most important of Oaxaca’s rug-weaving villages. There, we greeted old friends and picked out a lovely selection of hand-woven rugs, purses, pillow covers and table runners for Chiripa (guaranteed to warm and brighten your environment).

The Santiago Family in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Another pattern at Mitla similar to the design in the rug above.

"Our last stop was the village of Tule, to see what may be the world’s largest tree. The famous 'Tule Tree' is about 2,000 years old, and has a trunk as big as a house! The tree is still healthy, and green with new growth. But it is surrounded by a clutter of souvenir shops and food stands, and expanding development threatens its water supply." -JM Aug 6,2009

On to Oaxaca

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

"At dawn, we caught a taxi to the Puebla bus terminal and boarded for the 4-hour trip to Oaxaca in southern Mexico. It is a beautiful ride, through wild mountain lands and cactus forests. But we were happy when the bus pulled in to the new first-class terminal in Oaxaca.

"On our first afternoon in Oaxaca, we spent a little time in the bustling market southeast of the zócalo. Our friend Kathy boldly accepted an offer to try a sample of chapulines (fried grasshoppers), which are widely sold by street vendors here. She decided, however, that the sample was plenty (something about an oily taste, and legs sticking in her throat). Good protein, though.

KZ tastes grasshoppers in the Oaxaca market.

"On our first night in Oaxaca, we had dinner with our young friends Eric and Elsa. Eric is Zapotec, the eldest son of traditional weavers in the indigenous village of Teotitlán del Valle. If he marries in Teotitlán, Eric will receive a share of village land and will assume the rights and considerable responsibilities of village membership.

"But like many Mexicans, Eric is torn between 2 worlds. He learned Spanish and Zapotec at home (each village speaks a different dialect), but is fluent in English and adept with electronic media. He has traveled widely in the U.S. (including Madison, where he presented a weaving demonstration at Chiripa). At a young age, he is already Director of Education at the magnificent new Textile Museum in Oaxaca (if you are ever in Oaxaca, you must check out the museum on Independencia, just a few blocks east of the zócalo).

Eric in the center at Chiripa with his father Federico on the left and Elsa on the right.

"Eric worries that Oaxaca’s rich weaving tradition is dying out. The craft is still practiced on wooden and backstrap looms in villages throughout the region. But even here, cheap industrial textiles are quickly replacing hand-woven products for home use. Young people are not learning many of the traditional skills, and the older generation will eventually be gone. Eric works long hours to document and share the treasures that still exist, and to help struggling artisans find viable markets. Chiripa is trying to help." -JM, Aug 5, 2009

A Stop in Puebla

A post from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. -kl

"A late afternoon shower welcomed us to Puebla, and the air was cool. We checked into the comfortable old Hotel Coloniál (the hotel building has been on the city map since 1668), then walked to the tiny shop of our friend Miguel.


Miguel, his wife Lila, and their son Daniel were there to greet us – as were a crowd of humorous little skeleton figures that Miguel and his wife produce in their home. Skeletons on skis, skeletons playing tennis, skeletons at work – seemingly as alive as you and me (maybe more alive than me). You can see them for yourself at Chiripa.

"In the evening, we strolled around Puebla’s beautiful colonial zócalo (central plaza). Across from the cathedral, workers had cut down a huge old tree – the patriarch of all the trees on the zócalo (other trees also seemed to be in bad shape). The benevolent old tree had looked down on generations of strolling lovers, beaming parents, and chattering children chasing pigeons, but now it was just a carcass lying in the street. Workers with chain saws hacked at the outer rings of its huge trunk – like the crew of the Pequod hacking at the carcass of a giant whale.

"There is a new sculpture in the zócalo – a kind of white illuminated maze with trees wrought in iron. At its base is a quotation that goes something like this: “It is true that we must all leave this life. But the works that we labor to create, with all our strength and determination, will endure forever.” That may or may not be true, but the kindly old tree is definitely gone." -JM Aug 4, 2009

Bus Protocol

The next few posts will be taken from the log that JM kept on the August 09 buying trip to Mexico for Chiripa. There will be some repetition from my day by day summary from afar, but, his words will give more color to the trip. -kl

JM waiting in line for tickets.

A sample of the modern buses and facilities in Mexico.

"We managed to meet at the Mexico City airport (whew!), then boarded the first available bus for the 2-hour ride east over the mountain pass to the city of Puebla.

"As we entered the bus, there was a small diplomatic problem. Our assigned seats were already occupied and, rather than confront the issue, we just moved further to the back of the bus. But it was the wrong decision. As the bus filled, other passengers were perplexed to find us in their seats, and soon the whole bus was in confusion.

"We tried to move against the tide, to our original assigned seats near the front. But that just compounded the swelling logjam. No one was angry. But people were talking rapidly, waiving their tickets, and grappling with baggage, kids and grandmothers. The patient bus driver finally sorted it all out. We sheepishly took our correct seats and, despite everything, the bus pulled out right on time." --JM Aug 4, 2009

Day 17 and 18 in Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque

Monday and Tuesday, August 17 - 18: The Chiripa 2009 Summer Buying Trip to Mexico

The agenda for these days duplicates some of the visits made on other trips. I'll lead you to those posts.

On Monday Beth and JM visited the D'Casa Stoneware workshop. See the Aug 18, 2008 post for more information about Enrique Castro Compos and his family. Their products continue to be popular at Chiripa.

The next stop was the glass workshop in Tlaquepaque. See the March 12, 2008 post.

Perhaps we'll get more information about how the day went. Both of those workshops require much time and decision-making.

Tuesday is the first day of Enart, the trade show of handcrafted Mexican gifts. See the April 16, 2009 post. Beth will make stops at Citlali for jewelry and a couple other "regular" stops. Perhaps there will be a Chiripa (a happy accident) and she'll discover a new vendor who's workshop we'll visit on another trip.

This is the last shopping day of the trip. The travelers head for home on Wednesday flying out of Guadalajara at 8 a.m. and arriving in Chicago at 12:10 p.m. A bus to Madison should put them here by late afternoon.

It's been a full trip. Details and new contacts will be added in future posts. However, there will be a break in posting as I share information with Beth and then take a few days off from working the shop.

Day 12 and 13: Final Buys and Moving On

Saturday and Sunday, August 15 - 16: The Chiripa 2009 Summer Buying Trip to Mexico

Saturday was another trip out to Tzintzuntzan. JM walked the ruins while Beth did the market.


Beth is in search of cornhusk flowers. They are sold by the piece or in bunches of a dozen. We have never found them in other markets. We like to buy from the source, but, the "source" in this case is the market booth that distributes the flowers that are made in the homes of people in the area.

Back in Patzcuaro a total of four trips to Adame were required to get the textiles we needed. Although their storefront is conveniently located just off the Zocalo in Patzcuaro, it is small and carries much more than the table linens we buy. Enrique will go back to the workshop to get more of what we need. Stripes are the best sellers right now.


At some point, either Saturday evening or Sunday morning everythings is delivered to the Barro Sin Plomo/Echery Pottery office. Mitchell at Echery will carefully pack not only the pottery we've purchased and ordered from their local potters, he will pack the cornhusk flowers, the table linens, the baskets, the _____________ (fill in the blank). Each item will be marked "Made in Mexico/Hech en Mexico" along with the material in the product. The boxes will then wait at Echery to be picked up by our shipper in Guadalajara, Space Logistics. SL makes a weekly or more frequent trip to Patzcuaro.

Sunday noon Beth and JM leave Patzcuaro for a 4 hour bus ride to Guadalajara. Shopping begins bright and early Monday morning.





Michell Aguila Sanchez, Mr. Ship.

Day 11: The Lake Patzcuaro Loop

Friday, August 14: The Chiripa 2009 Summer Buying Trip to Mexico

Friday starts with a trip to the local market Patzcuaro. We find fun magnets here, but pass on the piles of pottery because we can't verify that it is Lead-Free. It's a very local market with things you'll find in typical Mexican homes.

A report on the day's activities included a tour guided by Dirceau and Beto of Echery Pottery. Places and people on the list:

The Juan Rosas Family in Capula

The Fernando Arroyo Family in Capula

The Nicolas Fabian Family in Santa Fe de la Laguna

A new potter [I wonder what he or she makes]

Isidro Lopez Saldivar, the stone carver in Tzintzuntzan [and I'm sure they didn't drive through this city without stopping for the cornhusk flowers that are a staple of the shop.]

And I wonder if they stopped at El Tirgre for lunch.

And then when back in Patzcuaro a trip to Once (11) Patios to look for delicately painted jewelry and barrettes. A very full day.

No time for photos on this post. You can search by any of the names above and see previous posts about the families and the art they produce. You can also search on our website for products we sell by these artisans.

Day 10: Back to Santa Clara del Cobre

Thursday, August 13: The Chiripa 2009 Summer Buying Trip to Mexico

Today's plan is to hop on a bus back out to Santa Clara del Cobre to meet with Lulu and Alfredo and to take in more of the copper fair. I'm confident that the day started with breakfast at I Turbe, a nice hotel with a restaurant serving a great breakfast and the best coffee we can find in Patzcuaro.

Starters: fruit plate, coffee, and little powder sugar cookies in the little basket.

This refreshing start is followed by a large plate of traditional Michoacan food . . . or pancakes.

Then it's a hike to the intersection where buses to Santa Clara pass frequently. The ride up the mountain (maybe "mountain" is exaggerated, but the elevation increases significantly) passes the daily life of Patzcuaro.

A flowering vine jumps out of it's humble surroundings.

Last February's trip to Santa Clara included a breakfast with Lulu Paz and her husband, Alfredo. Alfredo operates the furniture business that makes sinks and wood pieces with beautiful copper panels. Lulu operates a traditional copper storefront with a great copper-making demonstration area (not pictured here). The shop is called Casa Felicitas at Pino Suarez #88.

Lulu and Alfredo with February's travelers.

All over the city you can hear the "ping-ping" of hammer on copper and the whoosh of a bellows fire. The travelers are sure to have a full day of decision making. I'm hoping for some copper fair photos to share at a later date.

Day 9: Bus to Patzcuaro

Wednesday, August 12: The Chiripa 2009 Summer Buying Trip to Mexico

The travelers arrived in Patzcuaro and in the evening sent this email describing their bus trip and the subsequent trip up to Santa Clara del Cobre:

"We left SMA this morning on the 7:45 am bus and got here around 12:30 pm. We immediately left for Sta Clara where the copper fair is in full swing. Devils and dancers, Purepecha bands on stage, the square was full of folks. And there was a parade of sorts down the main drag -- a couple of toddlers in costume sitting on the hoods of cars. Yikes!

"Tonight we had a great meal at Primer Piso, sitting on the balcony overlooking the square [in Patzcuaro]." Beth

Copper judging and awards in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, Mexico 2008

No word on competition purchases this year. It's fun to put the photos with the winning pots that we can purchase. We try to encourage the young artists to continue their craft.

A winner in the 8-13 year-old division 2008

Days 7 and 8: San Miguel de Allende

Monday and Tuesday, August 10 and 11: The Chiripa 2009 Summer Buying Trip to Mexico

I have not received any communication about this leg of the trip, so, I'll go by the original plans for inventory buys and share what seems like an impossible list for two days.

The San Miguel de Allende Artisan Market. This is a strip of booths on both sides of a pedestrian walkway, maybe 3 or 4 "blocks" long. Besides local artisans, one can find rugs from Oaxaca and Huichol bead work from Nayarit.

It is at this market where we met Hector Bustamante.

Hector with his wife and daughter at the marketplace booth

His workshop called Luciano creates whimsical figures out of metal. We carry his catrinas and catrins, cats and dogs and angels. Perhaps the most loved piece he sells is the Tree of Life. It brings joy to people.

Other treasures at the market:

Inexpensive and popular blue painted clay figures, suns and boxes.
Coconut masks and coconut heads with bodies.
Tin star and angel ornaments for the coming holiday season.
Jewelry, milagros, Lotteria games . . . and the list goes on.

But there are other stops besides the market for these two short days:

Felix Bautista Ramirez was our first mirror maker.

Our first trip to Felix's was in the back of a pickup truck.

He lives outside the city and is often not reachable by phone. This requires resourcefulness and patience as we track him down to place an order. This time we'll be looking for more mirrors, his painted tin cacti, tin stars, and tin luminaries.

Felix with his wife and a pile of stars for Chiripa.

A second mirror maker, Ricardo Banda who, along with his family create differently styled mirrors that have proven popular in Wisconsin: mirrors with doors, oval highly decorated painted mirrors, as well as more traditional tile mirrors.


Ricardo also manufactures our metal switchplate covers. Maybe there will be something new from this visit.

A short distance from San Miguel de Allende is the city of Dolores Hidalgo. It is home to some colorful talavera pottery workshops.

We shop regularly at Liceagui right on the main drag i.e. bus route. Our supplies are not depleted from our trip here in February, but there are some special requests (a fish sink!) and some holes to fill in inventory.

Beth will make a new stop in Dolores Hidaldo at Chiles y Chiles the factory that makes the chili peppers we found last year at the trade show. It will be fun to see the operations and meet the people who make the colorful peppers that hang from the ceiling at the shop.

I'm hoping Beth and JM have time to stop in the Zocalo for some of the homemade ice cream. It's a special treat to pick out a flavor that we'd never find in the U.S.

With so many stops--not to mention a trip to the bank or money exchange to change travellers checks--those of us back in the US worry that meals are being missed. Rest will come on the bus ride tomorrow!