Pablo Pajarito painting an unfired canelo (cinnamon-colored) jar in his workshop in Tonala, Jalisco; copyright-free image courtesy of "AlejandroLinaresGarcia" made available through Wikimedia Commons.

Wooden unicorns at a mercado in Oaxaca; photo courtesy of Patricia Buck Wolf.

Sometimes in communities were most people are of indigenous origin the economic welfare of the village depends on the sale of just one kind of specialty product, which was the case with the wooden unicorn at the right, spotted in a mercado in Oaxaca.

However, sometimes towns famous for producing particular kinds of handicraft do not necessarily sell that same handicraft in their own local mercados. Once a family has enough of what it makes stored up, it may bundle up a shipment and send one of its members off selling the handicraft in distant cities; or it may invite a middleman to drop by, who will load the goods into his pickup truck or van and carry them to a distant wholesaler, thus completely bypassing local markets. If the goods are indeed sold locally, they may appear in specialized shops and boutiques, not in the mercado proper.

Nonetheless, those of us who like to meet the artisans and know the home bases of the things we buy -- and possibly run into extraordinary bargains -- might still do well to visit small to medium-size handicraft-producing towns. Just land in town, go to a restaurant, have a nice meal, and then ask the person serving you who in town produces the particular kind of item you are looking for. If the knowledge is not known, most likely, in habitual Mexican fashion, the question will be passed around until someone walks over and tells you exactly where to knock on a door.

Once the courtyard's door is open and you see the great heaps of hats, or clay animal figurines, or hammocks, or whatever, then the cross-cultural fun begins.

Papel Amate on large boards, sun drying in San Pablito -- famous for its papel amate -- in Puebla; copyright-free image courtesy of Luis Fernando Orozco Madero made available through Wikimedia Commons.

Don't overlook our List of Handicraft-Producing Towns.