Priscilla Kibbee: Trip to Oaxaca Mexico, Part Two

This was just a great door in an old building on my 8 block walk from the hotel to the Zocalo.

On the way I stopped in a shop called MARO, run by the Regional Association of Craftswomen of Oaxaca. A group of local artisans who display their work there. I either didn't find anything I liked or at a price I was willing to pay so I left empty handed.

The shop is located in an old house near the Zocalo.

This was a figure outside another Artisans shop.

After all this shopping I decided to visit Museums. The first was the Museo Belber Jimenez, a new one to me.
Born in 1941 in the village of Tututepec on the Oaxacan coast, Belber is a Mixtec Indian that came from a family of six brothers and one sister. Unfortunately, being Mixtec meant he grew up in poverty. This is a problem that plagues indigenous groups of Mexico and Latin America. Most will never overcome this obstacle but the family found opportunity through education.

The family moved to Oaxaca City for a better life and were helped by the local people. He later received a degree in Anthropology (the same as his wife Ellen Belber). For over 40 years he lived in the United Stated where he became a jeweler designer. He is known worldwide and his designs can be spotted on American celebrities.

Over 40 years ago, out of pure interest and love he started collecting pieces of jewelry, textiles and folk art. His collection began from pre-Colombian objects found in his village and some pieces that were passed down through many generations in his family. He became familiar with important artists in "the last movement of modernism," in terms of silver. One in particular, William Spratling, known as "the father of contemporary Mexican silver," and many others are represented in the museum by their impressive designs.