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!