Casa de las Artesanías

Description:

• TThe Casa de Artesanías is a government-run gallery in the Centro Histórico with fixed prices on Mayan crafts, including handmade paper, purchased directly from indigenous artists. Founded in 1978, the enterprise has made a concerted effort to rescue and develop traditional handicrafts and provide a market for indigenous Mayan artists working in new forms of expression. Quality is uniformly high and prices are reasonable. The diverse merchandise includes colorful bags and baskets woven from henequen fiber, Yucatan's former "Green Gold; men's guayaberas, women's huipiles, and stone reproductions of Mayan plaques. Other products include palm fiber coasters and hot pads, finely wrought silver earrings and necklaces, carved wooden bowls, and hand-painted folk figurines. Casa de las Artesanías operates three other galleries: in Mérida on Paseo de Montejo across from the Anthropology Museum, at the Uxmal Archeological Zone, and in Progreso, convenient for cruise line passengers visiting the port.

• © NileGuide2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010