Ceramics of Tonala

Tonala is world famous for its craftsmanship in ceramics. In fact, it has its own, distinctive styles. Artisans in Tonala continue to keep these traditions alive today. During Holy Week and Easter Week, there were free tours of Tonala. During these tours, I've had to opportunity to walk through the workshops of two different styles of Tonala ceramics: petatillo and betus.

Petatillo is characterized by cross-hatching in the designs painted upon the clay. We had the chance to walk through Jose Bernabe & Sons' shop. It was so amazing to be walking through their work area! Since everything is so time intensive, the rule is "you break it, you buy it".

Painted pieces waited to be fired

We carefully watched the brothers painting. Each had his own specialty, whether it was a certain color or a certain line type. They all sat outside in small chairs, hunched over pieces that they were painting.

Bernabe sons painting

After the pieces are painted, they go into a very large kiln for two separate firings. Before the first firing, the pieces are dipped in a glaze. After the first firing for six hours at 900 degrees C, the pieces are a shiny, enamel white. In the second firing at 1100 degrees C for 8 hours, the colors brilliantly illuminate for the final product.

Inside the kiln.

The Bernabe sons are carrying on the tradition of Petatillo. And, their work is world renowned. Even Pope John Paul II and Barack Obama have eaten off Bernabe & Sons pottery. However, since it is so time intensive, it's not a cheap tradition. A 94-piece table setting for 12 takes seven people working 6 hours per day for 3.5 months. It comes with a 250,000 peso price tag (~$20,000).

Products for sale

Next, the bus stopped in front of a nondescript door on a what appeared to be a small, residential street. Only a small painted ceramic tile above the the door named this place "Ortega". We walked through the narrow door past a small room, a kitchen, and then through the door to the back workshop. A dog silently sniffed each of us as we passed into the workshop. A cat sauntered by while a roster strutted near the back wall. A chicken cared for her chicks nestled among work supplies. What an honor to get to walk into yet another artisan's workshop!

Molds that clay is built around

The Ortega family continues the tradition of the betus style, which is characterized by bright, bold colors. The starting point of each figure is a small, brown mold about the size of two peanuts. The sculptor wets clay and massages it around this form until the desired figure is obtained.

Figurines drying in sun

Next the figurines are set outside to dry. During these hot days, the clay dries overnight.

Brick kiln for firing

After drying, the sculptures are placed into a wood fired brick kiln and fired at 350 C (662 F). Once finished, they are left in the kiln overnight to cool.

Painting figurines

The figures are painted the signature, bright colors of the betus style. Some of the more popular figurines we saw were the stacked animals for the story of the Bremen town musicians and Trees of Life. There were also several examples of Tastoan masks, traditional ceramic masks worn for dances that will take place on July 25th this year.

Tastoan masks