The Siren Call of Handicrafts

Before I had even left on this trip, I had read on TripAdvisor that there was going to be a handicraft fair at the end of August / beginning of September on the esplanade in front of the government headquarters for the "delegación" (borough) of Cuauhtemoc.  So, of course, one day last week I had to go there to check it out.

The fair was relatively small with just a few dozen booths.  However, there were some outstanding artisans displaying their merchandise.

I had a nice conversation with this couple from a mountain village in the northern part of the state of Puebla.  

Their hand-made clothing included embroidered shirts and blouses, "quechquemitls" (the triangular, poncho-like garments traditional among indigenous women), and "rebozos" (shawls).  The black shawl hanging at the far right of the photo caught my eye.  It would have made a beautiful table runner, but it was very pricey... several thousand pesos.  But given the amount of handwork that went into it, the high price was certainly justified.

This lady comes from Uruapan in the state of Michoacán.  The dolls that she makes are unique and delightful.  They are somewhat reminiscent of the old "cabbage-patch dolls", but they are hand-made, and the clothes they wear are all hand-woven or hand-embroidered.

You may recall that I always buy dolls for the daughters of my friend Amy, and I could not resist buying one of these dolls.

This fellow comes from the town of Arrazola in the state of Oaxaca where he and his entire family create "alebrijes", colorful, wooden carvings of fantastical animals.

I have a collection of jaguar heads hanging on the wall of my bedroom.  This one is a little larger (and more expensive) than the others, but I couldn't resist it either.

As usual, I did not leave the handicraft market empty handed!