After breakfast we wondered down to the Plaza Grande or
central square of
Patzcuaro. Everyone was busy decorating the plaza for
the upcoming festivities. While Dia de
los Muertos was still a day away the children were already in costume for Halloween.
While not a Mexican holiday Halloween has taken off here in Mexico. Much like the commercialization of Christmas
in the United States local
vendors have introduced Halloween to Mexico.
Quick break for some
history.
Pátzcuaro was the capital of the Tarasco people from about AD 1325 to 1400.
After the death of King Tariácuri, the Tarascan state became a three-part
league. Comprising Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan and Ihuatzio, the league repulsed
repeated Aztec attacks, which may explain why they welcomed the Spanish, who
first arrived in 1522. Bad idea, the Spanish returned in 1529 under Nuño de
Guzmán, a vicious conquistador.
Guzmán’s reign against the indigenous people was brutal, even for those
times. The colonial government recalled Guzmán to
Spain,
where he was arrested and locked up for life and dispatched Bishop Vasco de
Quiroga, a respected judge and cleric from
Mexico
City, to clean up his mess. Quiroga was one enlightened dude. When he
arrived in 1536, he established village cooperatives based on the humanitarian
ideals of Sir Thomas More’s Utopia.
To avoid dependence on Spanish mining lords and landowners, Quiroga
successfully encouraged education and agricultural self-sufficiency in the
Purépecha villages around Lago de Pátzcuaro, with all villagers contributing
equally to the community. He also helped each village develop its own craft
specialty – from masks to pottery to guitars and violins. The utopian
communities declined after his death in 1565, but the crafts traditions
continue to this day.
OK, back to what’s happening now.
As covered above in our brief history lesson Patzcuaro is surrounded by
artisan villages.
Day 2 found us in Santa
Clara del Cobre.
Copper is the name of
the game and you can find or have anything made here.
Local mines are about played out and in the
past few years the price of copper has quadrupled so many area have suffered a
rash of copper thievery.
Its not
uncommon for miles of power lines to disappear and be reincarnated into copper
sinks and bowls.
(pick)
Julie picked up a beautiful copper bowl for less than the price of a modest
lunch.
A couple of quick beers to
celebrate our finds then it was back to Patzcuaro for the evening.
