Glass shop, Santa Cruz de las Huertas, Tonala

Peering through the bars of the metal grate entrance along the sidewalk, we saw workers running back and forth. Most of them were holding long metal poles, often with a molten, glowing end. Our guide invited us just inside the metalwork gate. We squished in between bags of silica and two artisans forming glasses seated on benches.

Specialized bench for rolling glass blowing pipes

The craftsmen were up and down working non-stop. An employee would bring over a long metal pole with a red hot ball of glass on the end. They'd hand it off to the seated worker who would start by blowing into the open end to expand the glass. Then, he'd sit at his bench and start rolling the pole back and forth with his left hand. His right hand was busy sculpting the glass using various metal tools. The bench was special. It had longer than normal arms which were plated with metal on top. At the front end of each arm, there was a peg to keep the metal tube from rolling off.

Blowing glass into mold

In a minute, the artisan was on his feet again. The craftsman would blow some more air into the metal rod, step up on a small platform and plunge the glass end into a two piece metal mold. Swinging the mold shut with his foot, he'd give one more blow. Then, he'd toe the mold open and return to his bench. Another employee would be ready with red hot glass glowing at the end of a metal pole. The artisan would guide this hot glass onto the stem of the wine glass. Unused remnants fell with the end of the second pole to a foot square piece of sheet metal waiting on the floor. The craftsman formed this newly attached glass into the base of the wine glass.

Adding glass for base

When finished, the craftsman handed the entire pole with wine glass to a waiting worker, who moved to another station to remove the piece from the pole before handing it off to another worker, who stacked it in a waiting kiln. The entire process took two minutes. As soon as an artisan handed off a finished wine glass, there was a worker handing him another metal pipe with a blob of glass waiting to be formed.

Forming base

At first glance, the entire workshop looked like chaos with workers running all over the place, swinging around glass blowing pipes with red hot glass on the ends of them. Yet, it was a highly coordinated team of people who knew exactly what they were doing. We saw no accidents. Even though we, the tourists, pushed every possible space limit, the artisans knew exactly how much space they and their metal pipes needed to get around us.

Mass chaos to the untrained eye

The safety equipment was minimal -- I think I saw two gloves and two arm guards total. No one worn any type of mask to protect from the silica dust. The foreman let us venture further into the bowels of the shop among the burning kilns. We formed tight knit groups of six plus our guide. Walking single file, we'd huddle together wherever the foreman said was safe. Workers raced around us with metal poles of glass, forming glass jars, loading kilns. We simply tried to stay out of their way. It was certainly the only time that no one had any questions for our guides.

Forming glass jars

Tours of Tonala will return during summer vacation. For more information, please visit Tonala Tur's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TonalaTur

For more information on the glass shop: http://www.elnuevotriangulodecristal.com/

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

Puente Grande and the Hydroelectric Plant

Sign on side of tour bus for free tours of Tonala

Today I slept in. The tours to the nearby town of Tonala don't start until 10 am! However, these tours are also very popular. When I arrived at 9:50, there was already a line of people waiting for the bus. When I asked the young guys running the tour if there was still space, they just said "No hay parados"; but, yes, I could still go. Note to self, if someone says "no hay parados", ask how long the bus ride is. I learned once I got onto the bus that "parados" are seats. Thankfully, it was only a 25 minute ride. 

Inside the bus

Finally, we arrived at our destination, the hydroelectric plant in Tonala. The plant was originally built in 1910. At the entrance are two statues, a male and female that represent the positive and negative poles. Originally, these figures were naked. However, sometime during the last 100 years, an official forced the statues to be clothed; and, they remain clothed today. 

Figures representing positive & negative poles

We got to walk up into the Control Room and see the remaining controller for the final generator in use. Originally, there used to be five generators and 325 people working at this plant. Today, only nine people remain employed. From my understanding of one employee's presentation, this is because there is less water today to create power. In addition, other cities have built their own electricity plants, usually using other methods instead of water, like coal.

Hydroelectric control room

The views from the plant were gorgeous! It was my first time outside of the city this visit to Gaudalajara. 

View from the top, near the hydroelectric control room

Then, we piled into the energy company's trucks and took a ride down to the river and the generators. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos inside of the plant with the generators. However, we got up close to the generator still running. It was pretty cool to be standing near the inner workings of a generator providing power to so many people.

Riding down to the river

In addition to the switchback road from top to bottom, there is also a steep stairway. On the way back, some of us ascended via the stairs. I should have counted the steps! This was definitely my workout for the day.

Stairway to the top

While we were checking out the generators near the river, a young man approached me and asked, in English, if I needed help understanding anything. One of the pleasant surprises in Guadalajara has been how helpful everyone has been. On every tour, someone has offered to translate for me in English. These are usually other tour participants. On this tour, unbeknownst to me, the tour guide was concerned that I didn't understand Spanish and called a coworker to see if he could come translate.

We swamped the girl selling ice cream

Paleta (popsicle)

We boarded the bus and rode down to Puente Grande (Large Bridge). There were a brother and sister waiting for us, selling paletas (popsicles) and ice cream in two flavors: fresa (strawberry) and vainilla (vanilla). The sun was up; and, the shade was disappearing. It was the perfect refreshment.

La Garita de Puente Grande

At Puente Grande, there are ruins of a house built in 1718. It's called La Garita de Puente Grande. The ruins are beautiful. And, the Tourism Commission in Tonala works hard to keep the ruins clear of all trash.

Puente Grande

The beautiful Puente Grande is a Roman style bridge that has 26 total arches. There is a legend that it was built by the devil himself when a young man sold his soul to get across to the another side to his lover. For this reason, the bridge is also called El Puente del Diablo (The Devil's Bridge). In reality, Puente Grande was built in the 18th century.

Lord of the Ascension church, Tololotlan

Our final stop was the community of Tololotlan. Originally, this area was full of pyramids. However, when the Spanish arrived, they brought with them a fever that wiped out all of the original inhabits. The Spaniards constructed a church called Senor de la Ascension (Lord of the Ascension) here. Inside, the Christ on the cross isn't the usual Anglo-Saxon version.

For more information on tours to Tonala during Holy Week and Easter Week: http://www.lupacity.com/vive-tonala/