My Valentine Took Me to Santa Clara, Part 11

Mike and I walked through 2 long streets of shops which ended up being 6 hours worth of shopping. Happy Valentine's Day sweetheart...

These are a few of gorgeous items that are made in Santa Clara. It is hard to believe they start as ugly pieces of brick or wire and are hand-crafted into this.

Finally, a fruit bowl large enough to hold a bunch of bananas and all the other fruits my family enjoys. (It's huge!)

These canisters were taken to the next level of craftsmenship. Because of the gorgeous overlay, no polishing will ever be needed. Azucar means sugar and cafe means coffee. I can't wait to add these to my kitchen counter tops in Oregon. I will discuss later why there are butterflys on these canisters. That will be for a future post, after we travel past Morelia next weekend.

A smaller fruit bowl perfect for Mexico's lemon and limes. I particularly love the leaves.

Every shop sells the classic Mexico designer plate. It was overwhelming to see all the copper items. One shop in itself was enough but this town has two long streets full of shops, each loaded with beautiful merchandise. A woman's paradise!

My Valentine Took Me to Santa Clara Mexico

Mike and I traveled to Santa Clara to visit a town that is known for it's hand-crafted copper. In Mexico, many towns are known for craftmenship of something. Mike drove Josh to a town known for it's guitars; we went to the clothing market in Morelos; we have heard of a town that markets it's woodworking projects, etc... Santa Clara was a perfect place to spend Valentine's with my husband.

Mike and I were invited inside a shop to watch a demonstration on how these hand-crafted masterpieces are created. The items in the shop were looking very expensive until we saw how much effort is required. No machinery, just artistic hands, a lot of heat and a few simple tools.

After the copper is red-hot, the craftsmen manipulate the medal with tools. This man is heaving the sludge hammer over his head and slamming it back down to form round decorative marks for eye appeal.

Creating gorgeous household items requires a lot of grunt labor and heat! As if Mexico isn't hot enough, this room is filling with heat and smoke. We tipped these men and were off to purchase a few items after gaining a new respect for what goes into them.

Mexico's Best Kept Secret

Morelia is the best place you have never been. The colonial heart of the city has been well preserved; it was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1991! I was awestruck by the 16th and 17th Century stone buildings, baroque facades and archways that line narrow downtown streets and are home to museums, hotels, restaurants, exquisite bars, rooftop lounges, chocolaterias, and sidewalk cafes. Few tourists have discovered this city. Could it be because they are not willing to trade the artistic architecture with a tropical beach?

My 15 yr. old son approached me while in Morelia. It was clear that this city was having the same effect on him that it was having on me. With a sparkle in his eye, Josh confided to me that he will be bringing his wife to this city on their honeymoon. Entertaining ideas myself, Morelia had a romantic feel.

Traffic jams in this city won't bother you. The slower pace will have you drinking in it's beauty and snapping pictures as fast as you can. One of my teens said, "Mom!", with an embarrassed flick of his head. I must have looked like a silly tourist. A sense of urgency had overcome me.

In the town square there are free public concerts, art fairs, performers, and music. Oh, and I have to mention the adorable doves walking about. It is a place you wouldn't mind hanging out in all day - or all month. Does it sound like I have been hired to sell Morelia. No - I just loved the city and wasn't able to be there nearly long enough. If you are planning to come to Mexico, it would be a mistake to leave Morelia out of your tour plans.

Downtown Tiendas

This is the main street of La Huacana.

Most businesses have their living quarters on top of their grocery stores. Garage doors roll up to allow customers in. Sometimes, when I walk into the store, the home is visible, just father back into the building on ground level.

Yesterday Mike and I had lunch together in a "restaurant". After inside, we could see that we were eating in someone's actual home. It was mostly out-of-doors and very spacious. The food is incredible.

There are numerous small businesses here. Most people make their income through selling food either in an outdoor eatery or in a grocery store. There are other small business as well, but food is the main enterprise. These are the true essence of "home business".

By Request, More Information on Daily Living

My friend Debra has specifically asked for more information and pictures on daily living. This post was created with her in mind.

This business sells vegetables from a warehouse. It is a great place to shop! There is a large variety of fresh veggies to choose from. The "tiendas" mostly stock fresh foods. Little processed foods can be found. Our diet consists of vegetables, fruit, meat, corn tortillas, fresh milk, cereal and a little bit of pollo (chicken) and carne (meat). That is it. Oh, and that doesn't count the local ice cream shop. Mike has found an ice cream bar that tastes like Tillamook Udderly Chocolate, a family favorite.

If we drive out of town, larger stores stock processed foods. Most stores are 3 hours away! Foods that we rarely purchase at home, like Oreos or Snickers, we will purchase here just for the sake of familiarity. It makes the kids happy to eat something "normal".

Mike enjoys shopping in the local market. The two of us walk to town daily to find (literally!) our goods. The stores are small and are spread out all over town. Since we can carry only so much, it requires frequent shopping.

Where's the Beef?

WARNING: Photos in this post may contain graphic images that may not be suitable for younger audiences or those who don't know where their meat comes from. Animals were killed in the making of this post.

Unlike in the states where your meat may be starting to brown at the supermarket, meat here in Mexico is fresh. It is likely slaughtered the day before you purchase it. Another aspect that I have enjoyed is walking into the carneria and seeing the wholesale cuts of meat in the cooler. I asked the butcher to cut the meat or grind it into hamburger right before my eyes. Just like the old days in the U.S.

The down side of this old fashion service is the reality check of where your meat comes from - as you can see from the photos I posted. This doesn't bother me since I grew up on a farm and would often watch steers and hogs get butchered. Tammy prefers that I purchase the meat. I am sure we would have a lot more vegetarians in the U.S. if they had to purchase their meat like this. Not only is the meat fresh but I have noticed that there is not much fat as well. This is likely do to the fact the steers are pasture feed and that Mexican people still use lard to cook with.

My family had a small hog farm growing up with over 250 head of hogs in the operation. My dad would often say that unlike other livestock, people use everything but the squeal. By the looks of the hog head, I'm sure they live by that saying here in Mexico. ~Mike

Clothing Market

Gumero took us to a town 4.5 hours away that is known for it's clothing market. I have never seen so many clothes in one place in my life! We all were excited to get so many great deals.

An Average Shoe Store

This is Channel whom has been very hospitable to us. He speaks minimal English and has been able to answer a few questions for us, like, "Does La Haucana have a post office?" He too is a small a business owner like everyone else in this town.

Average Clothing Store

Town Plaza is Always Hopping!

This is a street in our "town plaza". Wow, what a fun and busy place it is! There are atleast 20 streets lined with small businesses. Loud music plays all of the time, and townspeople bring their carts, awnings, wheel barrels, etc., to sell their home-made foods. Last week I ate my now favorite mexican meal out of the back of someone's truck. I will be watching for him! There are peddlers everywhere asking you to buy their peanuts, chilis, drinks, or whatever they have. It is a delight to walk the four blocks from our home. Each trip I reward myself with a coca and/or mexican ice cream bar. It is more of a social outing than a shopping trip.

La Huacana Shopping

Here are some photos of shops in La Huacana. The flora photo is of the town plaza. The other photos are typical of the many stores here in La Huacana. All the stores are small and open up to the street with a rolling door. There are so many of these little stores in town it is hard to know where the best prices are for various items. Tammy found here favorite store last night - a candy store where she could buy chocolate.

Buenos noches de La Huacana, Michoacan, Mexico! (Good Evening from the town of La Huacana, in the state of Michoacan, Mexico.) We have been here almost a week and have been striving to learn the language. It is a lot of hard work and we covet your prayers. This week we have settled into our casa (home) and have attended several fiestas (parties). The most time consuming thing has been learning to shop in the market place for groceries with very little language skills. We have been very grateful for our picture Spanish/English dictionary and the many folks that God has set in our path to help in those times that all we could say is "no intendo" (I don't understand). The people have been very hospitable to us. Since La Huacana is off the beaten path from tourism, the presence of six Anglo people attracts quite a bit of attention in this town of 10,000.

We have been very blessed with the great food, the sunshine (although we think 90 degrees is a bit on the warm side) and the help and friendship extended to us by several families. Mario and his family served as our guide and translator from the time we crossed the border in Arizona up until they left town several days ago. Gamaro (Mario's brother) has served as our host family since we have arrived. They have shown us around, provided meals, invited us to community events as well as family fiestas. Please keep praying for our ability to learn the language quickly. We will soon be able to upload more photos to our blog. Our only Internet access is at a cyber cafe. To dispell what you may be thinking about a cyber cafe, it does not serve coffee or any food. I had visioned myself sipping a mocha while doing my email and blog. With temperatures near 90 (I hate to mention that again with all the snow you guys have had back home), I am looking for the nearest ice cream shop. On Christmas Day we plan to go to the beach and swim in the tropical ocean water. We hope that will ease the pain of not enjoying a white Christmas with family and friends in McMinnville. ~M

Feliz Navidad!