The copper artisans of a Magical Town in Michoacán were celebrated last week with the 76th hammered copper competition, where 80 prizes were handed out to artisans who submitted 561 pieces for judging.
Medals and prize money totaling 440,000 pesos (US $22,000) were awarded to the winners, whose work was on display with that of all 244 artisans last week at the Copper Museum in Santa Clara del Cobre.
An elaborate centerpiece was the grand prize winner, earning a gold medal for José Sergio Velázquez García.
Santa Clara, located an hour from the capital Morelia, is a Purépecha town whose inhabitants mined and worked with copper in pre-Hispanic times.
After the Conquest, they were encouraged to continue creating copper crafts by Spanish Bishop Vasco de Quiroga and the town became synonymous with the production of copper goods throughout the colonial period.
Award-winning pieces at this year’s copper competition
Photos by Michoacán Institute of the Artisan
Mexico News Daily
