W I D E W O R L D O F C R A F T

Right: Making

alebrijes,

like this jaguar carved

by Florencio Fuentes

Mclchor and painted

by his wife, Paula, is

usually a family affair

in San Martin Tilcajctc

near Oaxaca.

O

A

X

A

C

A

In the M exican colonial city a n d its surrounding villages, the a rts a re a w a y o f life.

YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD N OT

to find craft in M e x ic o ’s colonial

city o f O axaca; i f y o u ’re not care-

fu l, y o u ’ll literally bum p into it, as

w o m e n w ith textiles slung o v er

th eir shoulders ( lo w overhead!)

stroll through th e central square.

A t th e oth er end o f the econ om ic

spectrum are u pscale galleries

and shops; som ew h ere in

b etw e en are th e ou td o or booths

and th e craft m arket, all selling

locally m ade te xtile s, ceram ics,

tin w o rk , and w h im sical w o o d e n

carvings called

alebrijes.

T h e area d ra w s fro m a rich

cu ltu re th at in clu d es ind igen ou s

p e o p le s such as Z a p o te c s and

M ix te c s (am o n g o th ers), and is

ju s tly re n o w n e d fo r th e q u ality

and im p ressiv e d iv e rsity o f its

cra fts, m o st o f w h ic h trace th eir

ro o ts b a ck ge n e ra tio n s, i f n o t

cen tu ries. M o s t o f th e artisans

w h o se w o r k can b e fo u n d in th e

c ity co m e fro m n ea rb y villa g e s,

each o f w h ic h sp ecia lizes in a

p articu lar m edium . (T h e X o ch i-

m ilco n eig h b o rh o o d in th e c ity

w h e re m uch o f th e

hojalata

, or

108 american craft

apr/may 11

www.downmagaz.com

Oaxaca photo: Peter Adams, Corbis / Photos (2): Mark LaFavor