Arts & Entertainment

Creations of Mexican artisans brighten Christmas around the world

Puebla, Mexico, Dec 8 (EFE).- The blown-glass Christmas ornaments made by artisans in the central Mexican town of Chignahuapan can be seen in homes and businesses across the Aztec nation and around the world.

Throughout the year, hundreds of families in the picturesque municipality of 20,000 people in Puebla state practice the century-old craft to ensure the elaborately painted spheres are ready for the holiday season.

Beginning in mid-November, visitors descent on Chignahuapan to browse in the hundreds of shops offering Christmas ornaments.

Juana Solano Cruz, production manager at the Esfera Campanita workshop, tells Efe she takes pride in the 25 years she has devoted to bringing joy to homes in Mexico and beyond.

“It is very nice to know that our pieces go very far and that they cheer the hearts of thousands and thousands of Mexicans and – why not? – even foreigners. And it is satisfying to say ‘we made that piece and I already saw it someplace.’ It leaves an excellent taste in the mouth,” she says.

The workshop is always innovating, she adds, pointing to the sphere in the form of the Virgin of Guadalupe that was displayed in the Vatican in 2010.

Esfera Campanita’s artisans spent more than 14 hours creating that special piece, she says.

Alejandra, a sphere decorator, tells Efe that even after 10 years on the job, she starts work on each new piece with the same excitement as her first.

“When you like the work, you do it with emotion and you feel satisfaction in being able to do it,” she says.

Sphere painter Javier Gonzalez Hernandez says that what he does at Esfera is more than just a job, it is a vocation that has become an integral part of his life. EFE

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