STEEL & COPPER

Display at a mercado in Jalpan, Querétaro

Machetes, swords, and various kinds of knives are produced mainly in Oaxaca and Guerrero. Chilapa, Guerrero specializes in uniquely curved machetes called yahuales.

In Villa Escalante, Michoacán, a copper industry survives from the days of Vasco de Quiroga, Michoacán's first bishop, who arrived in Mexico in 1530. Mexicans celebrate de Quiroga not only because he defended the indigenous people against the usual abuses, but also he established schools, hospitals, and handicraft workshops among the local communities. Among copper items to look, as seen below, for are bells, cups, flower vases, and ornamental pieces.

Copper-made handcrafts from Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán; copyright-free image courtesy of Fernando Hernández Ramírez made available through Wikimedia Commons.