Life's a Beach | Expat Life in Playa del Carmen

Here's something else you might now know about my DH. He loves to shop. Mind you, it is possible he has never seen the inside of a grocery store and all of his clothes shopping is done online but when we go on vacation, Mr. Kinnon gets his shop ON! He is crazy for art and textiles and will spend hours and hours looking for just the right pieces to buy to bring home from our adventures. Knowing this, I made sure to plan a day trip to San Bartolo de Coyotepec early in the trip so that we would have plenty of time to arrange for packing and shipping for the barro negro pieces we would inevitably purchase.

San Bartolo is a very easy drive from Oaxaca City and again, we spent a leisurely morning at home before heading south into the valley. San Bartolo is a Zapotec community, which has been making pottery for about 2,000 years. The clay in this area produces pottery of a distinctive grey matte color. For centuries the clay has been used to form utilitarian objects such as jars, dishes and other storage containers. It was only in the 1950's that ceramic artist and potter Doña Rosa discovered that polishing the nearly-dry clay before firing would create a shiny black finish on the finished piece. This has made the pottery far more sought after and most pieces are now produced for purely decorative purposes.

We planned our visit to coincide with a special Barro Negro Expo that we had seen advertised online and on some posters in town but when we arrived, the set up was uninspiring. After a quick cruise through the tented vendors' area we set off in search of lunch. We ended up finding what seems to be a permanent exhibition area with several long rows of "stalls" each occupied by a vendor or artisan selling their wares. While there were a handful of interested shoppers browsing through the "Expo" in town, we were the only people here. I inquired if there was a restaurant nearby and was directed to a loncheria at the back of the property. A WWMD moment if ever there was one! We have all done enough traveling now to know that some of the best food can be found at these small stands and this was no exception! As a matter of fact, I think this rustic eatery may have served us the most delicious tlayuda of the whole trip!

After a very satisfying lunch, we wandered from stall to stall, carefully inspecting all the different pieces and styles, looking for designs we liked and trying to discern the best quality craftsmanship. We were on the lookout for some large urns and jars to go in the new house we are designing, much more difficult to find than smaller decorative pieces which are abundant. Getting the aforementioned urns and jars shipped back to Playa would prove to be do-able but a little more involved than the average tourist might want to deal with. The smaller pieces are generally more sturdy and can be easily packed info luggage or carry-on. We did plenty of that as well!

Before finishing up our shopping for the a, we decided to check out the museum and "factory" of Doña Rosa, the artist credited with the popular style of barro negro most commonly associated with Oaxaca. Doña Rosa died in 1980, but the tradition of making the barro negro pottery is being carried on by her daughter and grandchildren who stage demonstrations for tourists. The workshop is also still in the family home, where shelves and shelves of shiny black pieces line the inner courtyard.

The sale of these pieces supports the family and the museum and we were all too happy to pick up a few more small objects before heading back into Oaxaca City. While designed particularly to appeal to and accommodate tourists, the quality of the work here was excellent and more consistent than what we found in the mercado and the prices were not horribly inflated. I was glad we took the time to go and would recommend stopping here first if anyone is planning a buying trip in San Bartolo. It helped us gauge the quality and price of all the pottery we saw thereafter.

Tomorrow...Shopping for textiles in Oaxaca.