Ocotlan by bus
Ocotlan
We got off the bus and went to a cuchilleria - a knife factory. Angel Aguilar, the knife maker, lectured in Spanish and demonstrated how, using ancient techniques, he turns recycled auto parts and plumbing fixtures into knives and swords.
Angel explaining his work
The workmanship is quite beautiful and some of the designs quite exotic. I guess he has been to a bunch of Renaissance Faires in the U.S., demonstrating his work and selling his swords. He has pictures of Governor Arnold with his swords in some of his early movies.
Of course many people ended up buying knives after the demo. They were from $10 to $40. Angel probably cleared about $200 from our little group.
I didn’t buy a knife because I couldn’t think of anything I needed a knife for, or anyone I could give one to.
We made a quick pass through the market and it was amazing. The first part had a row of women selling sacks of corn. There were also live chickens and goats, plenty of produce, plastic ware, baseball caps, all manner of handcrafts. It had that lively fun noisy chaos that is so typical in the markets. There is music blasting and narrow little aisles and crowds of people and smoke from barbecues and comals.
Street outside Ocotlan market
We visited the Catholic church, which, because a famous artist, Rodolfo Morales, has contributed a lot to the town, was beautifully restored. But alas, all Catholic churches look more of less the same to me.
Ocotlan church
I end up getting creeped out by the sad-eyed saint statues and the Jesuses covered in blood.
Then I inevitably get angry at all the gold and decorations, while the poor blind beggars squat out on the front steps, cursing at those who refuse to donate....I got called a “perra” (bitch) by a little old Indian woman, which didn’t inspire me to give her any money.
We went to an ex-convent (Mexico has a ton of these. Apparently during the revolution, the government seized all the church property and for the most part, only gave the churches back if they gave anything back at all. So there are plenty of ex-convents to go around) that has been converted to an art museum thanks to Morales.
We got off the bus and went to a cuchilleria - a knife factory. Angel Aguilar, the knife maker, lectured in Spanish and demonstrated how, using ancient techniques, he turns recycled auto parts and plumbing fixtures into knives and swords.
Angel explaining his work
The workmanship is quite beautiful and some of the designs quite exotic. I guess he has been to a bunch of Renaissance Faires in the U.S., demonstrating his work and selling his swords. He has pictures of Governor Arnold with his swords in some of his early movies.
Of course many people ended up buying knives after the demo. They were from $10 to $40. Angel probably cleared about $200 from our little group.
I didn’t buy a knife because I couldn’t think of anything I needed a knife for, or anyone I could give one to.
We made a quick pass through the market and it was amazing. The first part had a row of women selling sacks of corn. There were also live chickens and goats, plenty of produce, plastic ware, baseball caps, all manner of handcrafts. It had that lively fun noisy chaos that is so typical in the markets. There is music blasting and narrow little aisles and crowds of people and smoke from barbecues and comals.
Street outside Ocotlan market
We visited the Catholic church, which, because a famous artist, Rodolfo Morales, has contributed a lot to the town, was beautifully restored. But alas, all Catholic churches look more of less the same to me.
Ocotlan church
I end up getting creeped out by the sad-eyed saint statues and the Jesuses covered in blood.
Then I inevitably get angry at all the gold and decorations, while the poor blind beggars squat out on the front steps, cursing at those who refuse to donate....I got called a “perra” (bitch) by a little old Indian woman, which didn’t inspire me to give her any money.
We went to an ex-convent (Mexico has a ton of these. Apparently during the revolution, the government seized all the church property and for the most part, only gave the churches back if they gave anything back at all. So there are plenty of ex-convents to go around) that has been converted to an art museum thanks to Morales.
posted by Suebob at 4:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home