Last Tuesday we went on our annual Day Trip to the two Pueblos Mágicos, El Oro and Tlalpujahua, about 2 hours' drive from Mexico City. We usually go at this time of year because Tlalpujahua is famous for its handmade Christmas ornaments.Our first stop was at El Oro, once a thriving gold and silver mining town in the early 1900s. Today it is a small peaceful town with unusual European-style architecture, murals and an elegant theatre, witness to its past wealth. We visited the Town Hall with its murals depicting the history of El Oro, the Teatro de Juárez, had coffee in one of the old train carriages, now converted into a cafeteria and photographed the old railway tracks that crisscross the town.Tlalpujahua was also a mining town but disaster struck in the 1930s when the slag heap, unstable after heavy rains, buried two thirds of the town, killing thousands. The Dos Estrellas Mine was promptly abandoned. Today Tlalpujahua is a colourful town with a pretty pink church and is famous for its handmade Christmas ornaments.From October to mid-December, the town fills with stands selling Christmas ornaments and whole families, who work all year round, can be seen in small workshops, glass-blowing, dipping and decorating them. Tlalpujahua is one of the top five places in the world in this sector and exports 38 million "esferas" every year. While we were there, we visited some of these places to photograph the artisans working and were surprised to see even 4-year-olds helping out.Before we left, we purchased some of these unique hand-crafted works of art to take home to decorate our homes for Christmas.
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Margaret MetcalfeBorn to travel, explore and share photos and experiences Archives
May 2019
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