Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Santa Clara del Cobre

Santa Clara del Cobre, a small village outside of Patzcuaro, has been a mecca of copper smithing for centuries. It is the home of the Purepecha Indians who have been working with copper since pre-Colombian times. Over the centuries, the Purepecha and their descendents have supported their families through the fabrication of copper vessels.

Sue (a student at CELEP) and I went up to Santa Clara del Cobre for a few hours before continuing on to the back road to Zirahuen. Right off the Plaza looking uphill on your left is the Museum and up that street there are some of the best shops. There are numerous factories (fabricas) around town ... and the one I took fotos of is 3-4 blocks back towards Patzcuaro.


One of the Copper Shops up from the main Plaza


Sue is looking thru the Copper Museum


Inside one of the nicest Copper Shops in town


Taking a pot out of the fire


The 'Fire and Water' with acids is to create a glaze like surface

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Patzcuaro is the ex-capital of Michoacan and before that was Tzintzuntzan, a small town nearby dating to the Purhépecha empire in the 1300's. The museum in Patzcuaro is finding ruins in it's back yard that predates history and they are believed to be earlier than the history of Tzintzuntzan. The Purhépecha were one of the indigenous tribes that were not conquered by the Aztecs

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