Traveling the world will take you to many places and in some of
them you may even find treasures. But treasures are not always made of gold or
diamonds. Treasures are also made of copper. And in Santa Clara del Cobre in the
Mexican state of Michoacán you will understand why treasures are also made of
this modest and noble metal.
Copper, the 29th element, is believed to have been mined for about 5000 years
now accompanying humanity and civilization through most of his great
technological accomplishments. In modern times copper is an ever present element
in the electrical and electronic industry. But that’s not the only area of our
modern lives where copper is present. Since ancient times Mexican artisans have
used copper as a valuable material to fabricate beautiful and intrincate artisan
works, among them there is one branch of artisans that combine practicality and
art in their work. They are those dedicated to fabricate beautiful raw copper
sinks in Santa Clara del Cobre.
These sinks are fabricated entirely by hand using the same ancient techniques of
their indigenous ancestors. Even gas is forbidden to heat and soften the metal,
they use only charcoal in small fires in the shops and helped by their
inseparable hammer artisans give life and form to the copper plates placed into
the fire. But this is not all, after getting the desired shape, the sinks
surface has to be treated so that they will last and look like new for many
years. For this they use a process called “patination” which is done under
heat and that gives the surface of the copper sinks its characteristic color and
durability.
Many people may think that copper sinks are soft or fragile but that’s not so.
They are sturdy enough to substitute a regular, series made, stainless steel
sink. It is sturdy enough that even bathtubs are fabricated entirely on copper.
And due to the “patination” process they won’t acquire a greenish color or
get rusty as those old pennies that didn’t have the luck of being “patinated”.
The charming town of Santa Clara is full of shops that work day after day to
bring to life this wonderful pieces that are considered a national art. They are
so proud of their skills that every corner is adorned with copper, even street
lamps have their share of this noble metal. If you ever have the chance to visit
Mexico, make plans and include Santa Clara del Cobre in your schedule. Who knows
and you may even end cooking in a copper pan and relaxing in your own copper tub
while your dinner is being cooked under a copper kitchen hood.
Omar Ferro is a freelance writer and webprenur who lives part-time in Mexico and
the United States.