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Artisan Market in Mexico City - 06.21.2007
By: Krillian
Posted: Jul 30 07
Witnessed: 9967 times
Regions: Mexico
Issues: Indigenous peoples
Tags: aliveinmexico, artisans, Mexico
[Translator’s Note: A Ciudadela is an area with some protection from the elements found in the interior of a large plaza. In the case of this specific Ciudadela it is a large market used for the sale of crafts and artisan works and plays an important role in the economic and cultural lives of the people living there.]
The Ciudadela is a Mexican crafts market where cultural groups from around Mexico distribute their crafts to other parts of the country and the world. These artists and have developed and maintained this space for more than 40 years. The land the Ciudadela occupies has been threatened with demolition, to convert the area into a government office building.
The Ciudadela’s craftspeople are organizing so the eviction might be prevented. They are working to educate people about valuable cultural and artistic work that is done every day in the market.
The Ciudadela offers artwork made of wood, cloth, glass, paint, metal, pottery, and embroidery. You can purchase paintings, scultures, typical and traditional costumes, along with thousands more items. The market sells crafts from the entire country, and members of at least 10 indigenous groups live there, including the Triquis, Tzeltales, Tzotziles, Huicholes, Mixtecos, Purépechas, Tlapanecos, Otomíes, Zapotecos, Nahuas and Mazahuas. These cracts people count on the Ciudadela space for art production as well as sales, employing more than 1200 craftspeople.
For more than 40 years the Ciudadela has been a hub for the world-wide distribution of Mexican crafts, and the market has also been a necessary stop for any tourist in Mexico City. During this time the knowledge of the artisan’s craft has been passed from generation to generation, and they continue with this work to this day.
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