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Tel/Phone: +52 (7) 486-6345; Fax: +52 (7) 486-9506 E-mail:info@mexcrafts.com.mx |
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Market of Chilapa... | |
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MexCrafts Guerrero State 
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 On Sunday, the marketplace wakes up with lots of noise in front of the cathedral in the city's plaza. Villagers come to set up their booths around the public square. The commercial area is shared by natives coming from the mountains and by mestizos from surrounding towns. In makeshift booths, they exhibit their merchandise where you can find items from precious stones to sculptured rock, in which the "nixtamal" (corn especially processed for making tortillas) is ground. You can also buy fruits, vegetables, different kinds of avocados; little onions, limes, lemons, and grains such as corn and beans. Besides that, there are curative plants and prepartions of some ointments and chemical preparations made by hand. The traditional barking is present, in Spanish or in native dialects. Farmers offer hens, turkeys, pigeons or piglets. Others sell their traditional and extraordinarily colorful embroidery in the form of "huipiles" (loosely fitting blouses), "enaguas" (skirts) and "rebozos" (long narrow stoles or shawls). In the middle of the noise appear arts and crafts brought from villages and mountainous regions. There you can see how the natives' creative hands gradually transform palm leaves into attractive and colorful hats, "petates" (straw sleeping mats) and handbags. Skillfully and patiently they make baskets, "chiquihuites" (willow baskets), colored flowers of varied forms. Besides, they adapt palm leaves to make objects to use them in the big cities' homes such as: coasters, table linens, jewel cases, big beach or holiday bags. From the village of Olinalá, the famous painted and lacquered trays, little boxes and trunks arrived to the market place. Certain metal objects are also sell like the "machete" (large heavy knife) from Guerrero, some with engraved details.To this market place also come salesmen from the states of Puebla, Morelos and the Federal District, among others. They shout out their merchandises such as synthetic fabrics, shoes and dresses at very low prices bought by natives to take them to their homes. The Chilapa market place is one of the few traditional markets which comes from old times; it has lasted almost untouched before the eyes of national and foreign tourists. The humble natives' dignified image represents an identity's admiration and reverence together with the cultural roots coexisting in this State. |
