The shimmer of silver, a wooden jaguar ready to pounce, a procession of stately ladies bound for market bearing fruit and flowers on their heads, skeleton mariachis, rainbow weavings, fantastic figurines and intricate trees of life. This is the world of Mexican crafts, a wonderland of color and creativity, a magical place where the imagination runs riot.
Mexico’s craftsmen and women are masters of their materials. They work with clay, wood, cotton, metal, stone, and natural fibers such as straw or cane to create household items such as water jugs and baskets, the masks and garments used in traditional ceremonies and festivals, and the stunning jewelry, hand-painted ceramics and wood carvings now sought after by tourists and collectors.
Some of the techniques and designs artisans use hail back to the days of the great ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica such as the Maya, Aztecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs; others were introduced by Spanish craftsmen who followed hard on the heels of the conquistadors in the 16th century and a few even came from the Orient. The range of mediums, techniques and motifs, not to mention the creativity of each artist, makes for endless variety: a breathtaking blend of colors, shapes and forms.
Throughout the country, thousands of rural inhabitants supplement their income with handicraft production; items once destined for the local market are now shipped to the nation’s resorts and the situation is not so different in the cities. Urban craftsmen work in family-run workshops that in some cases have been operating for centuries. Skills are passed down through the generations, but today’s artists are also open to influence, often drawing on the trappings of modern life for inspiration.
Join us on a journey through Mexico’s art world, calling in at some of its principal craft communities, although by no means all, there are so many!
The Dream Weavers of Chiapas
The mist-shrouded mountains of Chiapas are home to the dream weavers. In Tzotzil Maya villages around San Cristobal de Las Casas, mothers teach their daughters the craft of weaving as they have for thousands of years. The legends say that Ixchel, the ancient goddess of fertility and benefactress of women, taught the Maya to weave on the backstrap loom.
Photo by Teyacapan
The backstrap loom is used to this day, as are the geometric motifs that once adorned the tunics of noblewomen in Yaxchilan, Bonampak and Palenque. Tradition dictates that the umbilical cords of baby girls are cut with the weaving stick; young girls receive a toy loom when they are three and begin to learn their craft at the age of seven. In the village of San Pedro Chenalho, women are buried with their spindle, needle and thread in preparation to their journey to the next life.
The weavers portray their vision of the universe, using diamonds to represent the cardinal points, and symbols for the earth, corn, birds and even toads. They say that their designs come to them in dreams sent by the saints. No one design is alike: each community has its own color, motif or weaving style. Master weavers not only identify the particular village a weaving came from but also the woman who produced it.
Villages renowned for their textiles include San Pedro Chenalho, San Andres Larrainzar, Tenejapa, Magdalenas and Zinacantan. Look for huipiles, the embroidered or brocaded cotton tunics worn by women, belts, sashes, wall hangings, samplers and cushion covers. You can also see them on display in the museums and galleries of San Cristobál de Las Casas.
Photo by Teyacapan
Also in Chiapas, south of San Cristobal de las Casas is the town of Amatenango del Valle where potters model birds, piglets and armadillos in natural clay with touches of brown. The plants, candelabra and vases in the graceful forms of doves are popular with shoppers and connoisseurs also seek the famous Batista jaguars, made by a skilled local artist. Although he passed away two years ago, his style served as inspiration to several women who continue his jaguar tradition.
Magical Oaxaca
This southern state is a world of handicrafts unto itself. Home to indigenous groups such as the Zapotecs, Mixe, Triques, Mazatecos and Chinatecos, it is a land of sierras and baking hot lowlands. Craft materials abound – clay, plant fibers, cotton, wood and naturally occurring dyes: cochineal, which derives its name from the humble, cactus-dwelling cochinilla beetle, and a rich purple shade extracted from a tiny sea snail. Weavers claim that thread dyed with the snail extract retains the smell of the sea.
First stop on our Oaxaca tour is San Bartolo Coyotepec, a Zapotec village famous for its barro negro or black pottery. Pots are thrown on a simple potter’s wheel made from two inverted bowls. Once the pot has been shaped it can be left smooth, scratched with a nail or even cut in a lace or fret work pattern. The clay is then fired overnight. As there is only a small opening in the kiln at ground level, the clay is starved of oxygen and traces of red iron oxide become black. When the pot is cool it is burnished to bring up its black metallic sheen. Items range from elegant urns, vases, candelabra and angels to mermaids, birds and even pre-Hispanic turtle whistles.
Photo by frankenschulz
In the village of Atzompa, clay is fired but retains its natural buff color and is left unglazed. Skilled potters mold angels, saints, goddesses and even frogs from the clay, while in Ocotlan, the famous Aguilar sisters depart from tradition and model women carrying calla lilies and other flowers, fruit or poultry to market which are then painted in bright colors. Josefina Aguilar is also renowned for her figurines of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
From Oaxaca City come a host of hojalata or colorful tin figures, which include hearts, churches, suns, crescent moons, quetzals and Christmas decorations such as angels, stars and candles.
The village of Teotitlan del Valle is famous for its fine wool rugs woven on a treadle loom and decorated with pre-Hispanic motifs, geometric patterns and even the art of Diego Rivera, Miró and Picasso. Natural dyes in soft tones of lilac, blue and green and rose obtained from plants, clay, minerals, bark, flower petals and cochineal are used to tint the wool.
Women from the Oaxaca’s different indigenous groups use cotton, wool and even silk to make their traditional garments: blouses, wrap-round skirts and huipiles or shift dresses, capes, sashes and bags. They are also consummate embroiderers and in some villages also integrate appliqué, ribbons and lace into the decoration.
Alebrijes are fantastic figurines carved from copal wood in the villages of Arrazola and San Martin Tilcajete. They range from playful cats and dogs to porcupines, iguanas and dragons and are painted in bright colors. Another kind of alebrije – the original and even stranger creation of the Linares family – is fashioned from papier mâche and hails from Mexico City.
Puebla and its Pottery
The colonial city of Puebla is famous for its tin-glazed Talavera earthenware, the production of which began around 1550. The Spanish colonists dubbed it Talavera because it resembled the white and cobalt blue maiolica pottery from Talavera de la Reina, in the motherland.
With the passing of the years, the decorative elements and colors used in Puebla diversified, showing Islamic, Chinese, Italian and indigenous influences in addition to the traditional Spanish design. The Moors introduced the art of ceramic tiling to Spain and the Spaniards took it to the New World and especially Puebla de Los Angeles, which was the second most important city in New Spain.
Nowadays, this distinctive style of ceramics can be seen everywhere in Puebla in an elegant array of plates, vases, ginger jars, tiles decorating the facades, fountains and courtyards of colonial mansions, and the crockery in convent kitchens where nuns invented the spicy chocolate-chile sauce called mole.
Two kinds of clay are mixed and soaked in water before being shaped on a potter’s wheel. The pots are then fired, covered with a white glaze made from tin and lead and then hand-painted using mineral colors. Temperatures reach 1000˚C inside the kiln during the second firing and the glaze absorbs the mineral oxides. Although the blue and white decoration is still used, floral designs featuring green, yellow and brown are also very popular.
Elsewhere in the state, the town of Acatlan is famous for its burnished brown or black pottery, still produced using techniques dating back to the pre-Hispanic period. The technique may be the same but the pieces produced have evolved over the centuries to include candelabra, animals, churches, angels and the Virgin Mary.
And not all in Puebla is pottery, the first glass works in the Americas was founded in Puebla in 1542 and glass was soon exported to other Spanish colonies such as Guatemala and Peru. Nahua and Otomi women from mountain villages embroider blouses, quechquemitl or capes, and colorful wall hangings of birds and flowers for sale in Puebla’s markets. The city’s master carpenters produce antique-style wooden furniture and exquisitely carved crosses. Miniatures are another specialty and range from lifelike kitchen scenes to animals and figurines made from onyx, straw and wood.
Silver’s just the Start in Guerrero
When Guerrero is mentioned, seasoned Mexico travelers immediately think about the picturesque hilltop town of Taxco, the nation’s silver capital, where hundreds of smiths produce stunning silver jewelry inspired by pre-Hispanic, ornate 18th-century European and crisp ultramodern designs. However, the state’s craftsmen transform more than just silver into art, they are also master carvers.
Dances have been an integral part of religious ceremonies and fiestas since time immemorial and participants often wear masks when they re-enact ancient battles or the struggle between good and evil. The wood carvers of Acapetlahuaya depict Aztec warriors, Spaniards, Jesus Christ, the Devil, jaguars, bulls, deer and birds in their ritual masks.
Introduced to Olinala in the 18th century, the art of lacquering wood is now the mainstay of the community. Pine and aromatic linaloé wood are covered with a coat of black lacquer and polished before being painted with flowers, birds and even village scenes in bright colors. A second technique called rayado calls for two coats of lacquer in different colors; a design is subsequently scratched into the wood with a needle or quill and the top layer of lacquer is partially scraped away. Rayado motifs include birds, butterflies and geometric patterns. Boxes, maracas, gourds, trays, plates, picture frames, screens and furniture are also produced.
Photo by svazquezl
Before the Spanish Conquest, Maya and Aztec scribes documented the history of their people, prophecies and even tribute figures in bark paper books called codices. The bark of the mulberry and fig tree is still harvested to this day in the state of Puebla to make amate paper, which is then transported to Xalitla and Ameyaltepec in Guerrero, where the villagers paint individual sheets of the fragile paper with naïve-style scenes of community life, strange birds and animals.
Trees of Life in Metepec, Mexico
The archaeological record shows that the village of Metepec in the state of Mexico was an important pottery center centuries before the Aztecs forged their highland empire. The art of the potter has endured to this day and studios and galleries line the narrow streets of this bustling community.
Metepec is famous for its arboles de la vida or trees of life, which are ornate and colorful clay sculptures ranging from miniatures to immense pieces several feet high. Trees of life are thought to have originated in the Middle East and are loaded with religious symbolism. Metepec artists create a background of individually sculpted flowers, leaves, birds and animals, which frames characters from the Bible such as the Adam and Eve, Noah, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, the Almighty Father and Satan. Some potters have gone beyond the traditional biblical scenes to sculpt trees of life featuring bride and groom, entire villages, Father Neptune and his watery subjects, and even Death. Although trees are usually decorated with a palette of eye-catching colors, even when they are left unpainted they are exquisite. Trees of life are also crafted in Izúcar de Matamoros and Acatlán in Puebla.
Metepec’s craftsmen also model their clay into saints, skeletal and mermaid figurines, crosses, sun and moon discs and Nativity scenes.
Copper and Clay in Michoacán
From the state of Mexico we cross the border into Michoacán, ancestral home of the Purépecha or Tarasco Indians. The villages around Lake Patzcuaro are heaven for handicraft hunters. They produce burnished or glazed pottery – look for the delicate pineapple jars from San José de Gracia and the engaging little animals and devils from Ocumicho; silver jewelry; hand-woven shawls, embroidered blouses and rag dolls in traditional costume.
Michoacán is also famous for its brightly painted furniture, lacquer ware and the copper vases, plates, pots and pans forged in the town of Santa Clara del Cobre.
Tlaquepaque and Tonala, Guadalajara’s Twin Towns
A four-hour drive from the city of Morelia in Michoacán, lies another Mexican treasure, Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco and “Pearl of the West.” Although the city is famous for its mariachi music, its museums and monuments, the twin towns of Tonalá and Tlaquepaque on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, are the preferred haunts of art lovers who explore the cobbled streets in search of original paintings, antiques and fine handicrafts.
Tonalá has been a pottery center since the pre-Hispanic period and its studios are full of jugs, plates and vases in several distinctive styles: burnished red clay decorated with flowers, birds and rural scenes painted with fine brushes; burnished black ceramics; petatillo, which features a mesh of fine cream lines upon which the final design is superimposed; and high temperature stoneware in gray and pale blue tones decorated with elegant birds, cats and butterflies.
Tonalá craft families also engage in glass, candle and furniture making and it is during the markets held on Thursday and Sunday every week that the sheer variety of pieces becomes apparent.
Tlaquepaque is a genteel neighborhood of quiet squares and streets lined with colonial mansions, many of which have been converted into galleries displaying Tonalá ceramics, glassware and metal work including wrought iron candelabra and hojalata repujada or embossed tin plate mirrors and crosses.
Photo by thegadgeteer
The Colonial Route
Guadalajara is a western gateway to the Bajio, Mexico’s central heartland, an area comprising five states which is famous for its chain of lovely colonial cities: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro. Architecture and sacred art aside, they are craft centers, their galleries a blend of family workshops and the studios of young artists experimenting with techniques and contemporary designs.
The art of mayólica pottery was introduced to Guanajuato from Puebla and has evolved into a distinctive style in which shades of green, yellow, blue, red and green are used to pleasing effect on a an ivory background. Look for plates and ginger jars decorated with plants, geometric patterns and scenes from history.
The traditional crafts of the Colonial period such as metal working, woodcarving – especially furniture, the production of religious statues and toys-, and tanning are still very much in evidence in Guanajuato and Querétaro. Women still make lace and produce drawn thread work in Aguascalientes and the country’s finest silk rebozos or shawls come from Santa María del Río in San Luis Potosí. These hand-woven garments are so fine that they can be threaded through a ring and, if more proof of authenticity is required, a genuine Santa María shawl is always stored in a pretty inlaid box.
The Call of the North
A land of soaring peaks and deep canyons, the Sierra Madre mountain range is the backbone of western Mexico and home to two of Mexico’s most famous indigenous groups: the Huichol, from the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Durango and Zacatecas, and the Tarahumara from Chihuahua. Both tribes honor the old ways and produce craft items associated with their daily lives and religious ceremonies.
In the case of the Tarahumara, handicraft manufacture is confined to weaving straw and palm baskets, so intricate that some of them can be used to carry liquids, rustic pottery, woodwork including dolls and musical instruments, and textiles (sashes, sarapes).
Also in Chihuahua, the village of Mata Ortiz is famous for its elegant black, red and white pottery sporting the ancient geometric, turtle and bird designs once used by the Casas Grandes and Paquimé cultures.
Huichol art is a splash of color and offers a glimpse of their sacred vision. Each color and icon has a meaning and a place in the spirit world. The multicolored yarn paintings created by many Huichol artists are an expression of their beliefs; theirs is an oral tradition and art is an attempt to chronicle their religion.
Yarn paintings depict man, corn, lightning, the sun and moon and sacred creatures such as the deer, snake, scorpion and the eagle. The strange scenes are the result of peyote-induced dreams. Peyote is a hallucinogenic drug derived from the mescal cactus and is considered a divine gift by the Huichol and they consume it to converse with the gods. The Huichol make an annual pilgrimage to the arid state of San Luis Potosí, called Wirikuta or the “birthplace of peyote” in their language, to harvest the cactus rosettes containing the drug.
The Huichol place offerings such as votive arrows, tsikuri or god’s eyes, which are diamond shapes of woven thread on bamboo crosses, and gourds decorated with glass beads, in holy places such as caves and springs. The finely embroidered shirts, skirts, sashes and trousers worn during religious festivals, have also become collector’s items.
Chakira or beadwork is an ancient craft once practiced throughout the Americas, and the Huichol have taken it to new heights, producing masks, bowls, eggs and deer and jaguar figures for the craft market. The chakira tour de force is the bead-covered VW beetle on display at the National Museum of Popular Art, which took months to finish.
From the Yucatán with Love
From the western mountains we travel to the tropical lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula, our final destination. The jungles and wetlands of this vast limestone shelf yield a variety of natural fibers such as palm, vines, reeds and sisal or henequen, not to mention, highly sought after hardwoods, used by craftsmen to create some stunning pieces.
If you want to meet the palm weavers of Becal, Campeche, you have to take to the caves. That’s right, the higher levels of humidity underground make the fibers of the jipi palm pliable and easier to work with. Although Becal weavers produce baskets, mats, bags and even lampshades, they are famous for their Panama hats. According to tradition, a Panama hat is the genuine Becal article if you can crumple it up, push it through a ring and then restore it to its original shape. Street vendors will sometimes perform the test for you, although it is probably not a good idea to try it yourself!
Originally from the Caribbean, the Spaniards introduced the hammock to the Peninsula, and nowadays no home is without one, indeed hammock hooks are installed in houses when they are being built. Hammocks are a savvy way to beat the heat and local artisans weave them from cotton, nylon, silk and even henequen, in single, matrimonial and even family sizes!
Other cool creations from the Yucatán Peninsula are the traditional embroidered cotton shift dresses and men’s shirts called guayaberas. Seamstresses in the state of Yucatán embroider flowers and birds on their dresses whereas their counterparts in the remote villages of central Quintana Roo, the Mayan heartland, still cross-stitch the geometric designs of their ancestors. Area needlewomen are diversifying, now making casual cotton clothing decorated with native birds and animals, rag dolls, samplers, napkins and tablecloths for the tourist market.
If you are shopping for a souvenir from the Yucatán Peninsula, other options include carved wooden animals such as turtles, dolphins, coatimundis, deer and jaguars; jewelry, candles and clay figurines that are superb replicas of ancient Mayan art from the town of Ticul in the state of Yucatán.
Hopefully this tour has whet your appetite to find out more about artesanías and you are ready to hit the stores and markets in search of some unique mementos straight from the hands of Mexico’s gifted artisans.
Where to See Mexican Folk Art
On your next trip to Xcaret Park, take some time to visit the Museum of Popular Art in the Henequen Hacienda. Highlights include a collection of ceremonial masks and some magnificent trees of life. If you are planning a visit to Merida call in at the Museum of Popular Art on Calle 50 A x 57 No. 487. Open Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Casa de las Artesanías store in Las Monjas two blocks from the main square stocks a colorful selection of Yucatecan crafts, including hand painted ceramics, embroidered dresses, henequen mats and gold filigree jewelry.
If you are in Valladolid, Casa de Los Venados is a restored 16th-century private home owned by an American couple who share a lifelong passion for Mexico and have an impressive collection of folk art to show for their travels the length and breadth of the country. Guided tours are available by arrangement and a donation to support local community causes.
Sustainable Crafts in Central Quintana Roo
If you enjoyed this article, please read our article on Mayan communities in central Quintana Roo, sustainable development and the Children & Nature campaign at Royal Resorts.
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