11122014Wed
Last updateTue, 11 Nov 2014 11am

Global artisan crafts fair open through Monday in Tlaquepaque

The Tlaqueparte Expo has opened in Tlaquepaque as sellers from across the world have come to offer a menagerie of artisan products. Now in its 56th edition, the biannual event is held at the Centro Cultural El Refugio on Donato Guerra and runs from Thursday through Monday, November 3.

Products on offer have been produced in 25 Mexican states and 15 countries, including clothes, jewelry, food and decorations. Event organizers have extended the exhibition space this year, allowing for more vendors, including the first stalls from Kenya, Nepal, Greece and Ghana.

With its picturesque streets and colonial era churches, Tlaquepaque has a worldwide reputation as a center for decorative Mexican arts and crafts. In keeping with the area, Tlaqueparte places a focus on high quality artisan products made with natural materials.

One stall owner from Ecuador selling traditional garments said that the bright colors of her clothes were produced using natural dyes from the forests of her country. Another, from the Mexican state of Puebla, selling a variety of naturally-produced moles, stressed that her products would last a whole year without the need for refrigeration. Particularly eye-catching was a stall run by an Egyptian delegation selling large models of gold-clad Egyptian pharaohs.

Several other stall owners said they had purchased their world products through distributors, such as one Mexican man who is selling Indian incense and herbal remedies acquired through a distributor in the United States.

Given the proximity to the Day of the Dead, there are a few stalls and exhibitions dedicated to that event, including an impressive catwalk of Catrinas (the lady of the dead) dressed in a range of stylish attires. There is also a special alter created in honor of the 43 students who disappeared recently in the state of Guerrero.

The event has also piqued the interest of the Mexican media. On the opening Thursday, presenters from the local TV series Día a Día delivered a show live from the crafts fair.