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Are you a lover of leather, ceramics or art in painting? If so, this article is for you, because we will tell you about 3 very characteristic crafts that are not wasted, not only for their beauty, but for their meaning.
Talking about the crafts of Mexico is a never-ending topic, because throughout the national territory you will find them, especially in tourist places, but also in those that have deep-rooted pre-hispanic customs and these are among the best.
When a craft manages to capture the essence of its artisans and the place where it is born, the value of these is really invaluable and special, despite having a price, its meaning goes beyond this.
Today we will talk about 3 in particular: The “Cuera Tamaulipeca”, The ceramiscs of Chihuahua and the “bulés” or painted “guajes” from Sinaloa; surely after reading more about them you will want to buy them at the first opportunity.
All types of ceramics are beautiful by themselves, however, the one from Mata Ortiz makes us take our hats off to her, since they are exceptionally special, since they preserve pre-hispanic techniques.
In the town of Mata de Ortiz, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, local potters have been in charge of preserving the roots of the “Paquimé” indigenous culture. But this great cultural achievement is due to Juan Quezada, a Mexican potter who discovered these pre-Hispanic techniques and has been in charge of promoting them and of course this fact could not go unnoticed, this earned him the National Prize of Sciences and Arts.
Five decades ago, Juan Quezada found pieces of ceramics that he found when excavating in the vicinity of Mata de Ortiz, this encouraged him to want to replicate this art and after several attempts he succeeded and not only rescued an ancient heritage, but his ceramics are found within the finest in the world.
These precious ceramic pieces are made from mountain clay, decorated with brushes made of human hair and with mineral dyes, to later be cooked with fire.
The decorations reflect the inspiration of the pre-hispanic culture of the area as well as mix more modern decorations. The magic is born from the 450 potters of Mata de Ortiz where some of them have been awarded for their art.
The prices of this pre-hispanic art can vary according to its complexity and time, for example they can go from less than $ 1,000 mexican pesos to even $ 30,000 mexican pesos or more. Preferably should buy from local artists and not international intermediaries.
Although it is not an exclusive art of the state, the painted bules are a characteristic within its local crafts. It’s a relatively new type of craft, since it has been introduced to the state for just over 30 years. And this was thanks to the artisan José Valdespino, originally from Culiacán. Valdespino was inspired by the bule art of other states, but he sought to capture in the bules of Sinaloa, the art of the state, something that would characterize him.
His handicraft work was recognized in 2018 by the Sinaloa Art Museum in Culiacán, with the Pure Sinaloa Artisanal Impulse Prize, winning first place with his work “Fibras-vegetal-bules, the spirit of the earth”.
To all this, what is bule? Also known as “guaje”, “pumpo” or “tecomate”, it’s a spiky and stretched globular fruit that grows on a vine. This fruit has been used by different cultures around the world for different purposes.
In Sinaloa, it’s decorated with the pyroblasting technique, that is a pyrography on the wood of the bules, which consists of delicately burning them to gradually remove the shell and create a relief according to the desired design and then begin to paint them.
The craftsman who is given to the task of this art, must choose the bule (to see that the wood is the most suitable for the craft purpose, that it is not pitted or rotten, that it has a solid base, desired size, etc).
When he has decided on a bule, the craftsman opens it from the bottom or from the top, this depends on the design he wants, then he cleans it by extracting all the pulp from the interior, to later soak it in water for a while, since it softens on the inside. remove excess pulp and seeds and cure.
Curing can vary, for example, lime curing is very effective and not harmful or toxic, some cure it with fungicide but great care must be taken. The lime curing is immersed in that material and once dry you can start the decoration.
Once cured, it is burned with the pyrograph (pyrography) and engraved, once these two steps are done, then the art in color begins, you can begin to apply the paint (in oil or acrylic) and it is varnished.
The prices of these beautiful painted pieces vary according to their complexity of decoration, but from $ 100 mexican pesos you can find them and normally they do not reach more than $ 1,000 mexican pesos.
A craft that dresses you well. It is the typical costume of Tamaulipas, this is made up of a jacket, pants or skirt as the case may be, this costume is all made of leather, decorated with frets and fringes.
Previously it was known as “Cotón”, according to the Tamaulipas craftsman Ramón Mendoza, who also says that it was not as we know it today, that it was a deerskin coat that reached the floor commonly used by cowboys.
This beautiful clothing was born in the early 1900s, thanks to the revolutionary captain Rosalío Reyna making a leather to give to the General Alberto Carrera Torres, which he decorated with a filigree drawn on the wildlife of the area.
To be more specific, the City of Tula, Tamaulipas is the land that first saw this beautiful wardrobe, in fact here there is a large monument of 4 meters high that represents the “Cuera Tamaulipeca”.
Several nationally and internationally known characters have carried this leather jacked on their way through Tamaulipas, names such as popes Juan Pablo II and Benedict XVI, Chabelo, Alejandro Fernandez, Princess Carolina of Monaco and her brother Alberto II, the Colombian singer Sebastian Yatra and the kings of Spain Sofía and Juan Carlos.
Nowadays it is made of deer suede or calfskin, with engraved white long fringes on the back, sleeves and edges and is normally used when dancing in their traditional dances, (chotis, polka and redova).
It is also usual to see a leather with the shield of the state of Tamaulipas within its engravings, and it is not only brown, you can also find it in other leather colors.
The prices of Tamaulipas leather vary, as in all crafts, according to their decorations, details or materials used, if they are personalized with inlays, etc; These can range from $ 1,800 mexican pesos to even more than $ 30,000 mexican pesos.
These three handicrafts are another sample of Mexican cultural richness, which never ceases to amaze us, and like each handicraft, they have their own history, some of them have a long history behind them.
It is always a personal gain to get a craft from anywhere, since it not only contributes to the regional economy, but it also contributes to keeping the culture alive through these pieces of art.
Likewise, another of the redeemable things that must be emphasized is that this type of art transcends and even adapts to the times, it serves as a great conservator and protector of our roots and in turn, in a noble way, is flexible in its own beauty.
The work that artisans do in Mexico is recognized nationally and internationally, some crafts are not as complex as others, but all have a unique intangible value, and whoever makes them leaves their essence in them, so we should never haggle , since their time and cultural work are priceless.
If you follow Mexican culture, you will agree with us that there are many typical elements that make this country unmatched.
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