Santa Clara de Cobre

Santa Clara de Cobre: It is great fun to explore the town of Pátzcuaro, but the outlying region holds many places of interest, including towns that blossomed under the tutelage of Don Vasco de Quiroga. To help the Indians make a transition from their pre- Columbian world to the Spanish culture brought by the conquistadors, Don Vasco established special crafts for each small village, based upon the skills they already knew. Each of these villages, even today, continues to thrive on what Don Vasco taught them. These handicrafts included weaving, woodworking, furniture-making, pottery, lacquerware, guitar-making, and embroidery work. Perhaps the most successful venture occurred in the village of Santa Clara de Cobre (the official name of the town is Villa Escalante, but you will rarely hear it called that), where the people were trained in the working of copper. Today this small, out-of-the way village has become a hub for copper craftsmen throughout Mexico—fine artists come to learn the “old ways” of their craft and many stay on to continue working among their peers. You can see the artists and craftsmen at work here and buy wonderful copper objects directly from them. There is a competition each mid-August when all the artisans vie for the finest works of art; the winners’ pieces are featured in Santa Clara’s National Copper Museum. This is a village that should not be missed on a trip to Pátzcuaro.