San Miguel de las Ollas, Puebla is located on the federal highway between Zaragoza and Cuyoaco. Here artisans produce a wide variety of traditional ceramic folk art: vessels, pots, jars, cooking utensils, braziers, etc.

Cristina and Justino Toribio's family work together making wonderful casseroles, large serving dishes, braseros (small pots), ollas (round pots) and pots. Grandfather Arnulfo Cruz passed on his artisan talents to the third generation. Proud to carry on the family tradition, Cristina and Justino are also teaching their children.

They managed to win first place in Fonart in Mexico City and second place in the National Ceramics Award for their handcrafted work. They also won the Galárdon (highest award) at a show in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco. One of the specialties of their work is the application of clay ornaments in many of their pieces.

Process: they obtain raw clay from the local hillsides, dry it and grind it into powder. Water is then added to moisten the clay which is placed in molds where it will take the shape of the desired item. The piece is dried, and then placed in the stone kiln for firing. The fuel used is tree branches or sawdust. When they are removed from the kiln, they are cleaned and any roughness is corrected. Painted and then bathed in greta (glaze). Finally, comes the second baking to adhere the glaze. They use ocote wood (pine wood) which burns very hot and bakes all the pieces uniformly, achieving the desired characteristic shine. Now the piece is ready to be sold in the local market.

Pottery is one of the main economic activities in this area that allows the inhabitants to make a living; that is why a group of inhabitants formed the Saturday tianguis (open-air market) where they sell their utilitarian and decorative unleaded pottery. The Toribio family's pottery can be used in the microwave or oven.

Firewood suppliers in the San Miguel Temextatiloyan area are sawmills. Caring for the environment and to minimize unnecessary cutting of trees, they sell the scrap firewood to the artisans that they use to fire their kilns. The artisans who sell their handmade products in the markets to survive are taking care of the traditions of generations by continuing to produce the pottery of this region.

Domicilio Conocido

San Miguel Tenextatiloyan, Mun. Zautla, Puebla

233 101 8303, 233 103 3858 cell Cristina

Whatsapp Cristina celular

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