Books

In Praise of Mexican Cooking: Intangible Cultural Heritage. Traditional Mexican cuisine was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Unesco in ...

Set of 3 books, bilingual edition (English and Spanish). Chocolate: Cultivation and Culture in pre-Hispanic Mexico. In the rainforests of Mesoameri...

Tequila: a Traditional Mexican Art. Like the country that gave rise to it, tequila was the product of two cultures: the American agave and European...

Chili has been one of the essential ingredients in Mexican cuisine since pre-Hispanic times. Its adaptability to transform into other varieties and...

Maguey. The maguey—silent witness to Mexico’s transformations—holds the key to its own cultivation, the use of each of its parts, and how and where...

Nopal. The prickly pear is a bleak, ritualistic, emblematic and paradoxical plant. The sap from its fleshy branches, the juice from its fruit and t...

Set of 2 books. Rituals of Corn. According to the Popol Vuh, people are made of corn. This may explain why cultures in many parts of Mexico observe...

Set of 2 books. Seeds of Identity I. 31 Foods Mexico Gave the World. Over the centuries, Mexican cuisine has incorporated flavors that today form p...

Sacred Plants The story of Mexico’s indigenous communities is based on their unique worldview. An important facet is the ritual use of entheogens –...

The Crafts of Mexico. This book is the product of the Smithsonian Institute’s recognition of Artes de México’s fifteen-year publishing history and ...

Folk Treasures of Mexico: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection. One of the main advocates of the rebirth of Mexican folk art in the first half of t...

Mexican Lacquerwork. Six authors share their insights into the ancient art of lacquerwork in Mexico, its Oriental and European influences and the i...

Puebla’s ceramic tradition is an art form with historic ties to the the convent kitchens, building façades and the workshops -  the spaces that for...

Teotihuacan Ceramics. Pre-Hispanic art is often enigmatic, and Teotihuacan ceramics are no exception. This issue celebrates the mastery of the Teot...

Ceramics from Tlaquepaque. From 1920 to the 1950s, the glazed earthenware of Tlaquepaque underwent a revival thanks in part to the presence of arti...

Metepec and its Art in Clay. When asked whether he is an artist or an artisan, one potter in Metepec responded that he is only a lover of clay. Thi...

Tinwork. Tin emerged in the shadow of its more distinguished relative, silver. Almost every object made out of this precious metal also had a humbl...

Basketry. Basketry is both functional and aesthetically pleasing in its forms, colors, textures and flexibility, but this is also due to our emotio...

Textiles from Chiapas. The imaginary threads of the past and present are woven among the threads of a huipil. Weaving in Chiapas reveals an extraor...

Saltillo Sarapes. Despite being one of Mexico’s most emblematic garments, many enigmas still surround the origins of the sarape, its historic devel...

Rebozo. The path traced by the weft and warp united by the weaver’s rhythmic movements, the intertwining of threads by the women who make the fring...

Mazahua Textiles. When the Mazahua come on pilgrimage to Mexico City, the women look like tiny rainbows weaving their way down the road. Yet they b...

From Red to Mexican Pink. If countries were colors, one might say that Mexico glows in purples, pinks and reds, including the shade we all know as ...

China Poblana. The history of the china poblana lies somewhere between Oriental legends and Mexican folk tales. Who is this woman that has captivat...

Ocumicho: A Fabled Craft. The residents and artisans of San Pedro Ocumicho in Michoacán have long used clay to shape the life of their community, t...

Masks: Faces of Otherness. This issue of Artes de México explores the history, meaning and uses of masks among indigenous communities in Mexico. In...

Ancient Cora and Huichol Art. A tribute to the German anthropologist and pioneer of Mexican ethnology, Konrad Theodor Preuss. During his travels, h...

Set of 2 books. Day of the Dead I: Ritual Serenity. The indigenous celebration of the Day of the Dead is neither mournful nor whimsical. Rather, pa...

The Aztecs-Mexica and Death: A Rebirth of Gods and Men. Mexica representations of death can take our breath away by facing us with the aesthetic as...

Serpents in Pre-Hispanic Art. There are few motifs in Mexican art that are as charged with meaning as the snake. It’s associated with life and deat...

Snakes: Folk Representations. The third installment of a four-part series on serpents deals with the worldview of different indigenous cultures, th...

Ex-Votos. Miracles exist, as confirmed by Mexico’s rich tradition of ex-votos. With this look at their different forms, we get a clear sense of the...

The Traditional Art of the Nativity Scene. Made of wood, pottery, flowers, basketry, glass, wax or tinplate, Mexican nativity scenes attest to the ...

Ancestral Rituals of Guerrero: The Renewal of Cohesion. The indigenous communities of Mexico and their ritual practices constitute the culture’s fo...

Pre-Hispanic Codices. Ancient Mesoamerican books were painted by tlacuilos, whose hearts were said to have been touched by gods since they could co...

Guanajuato’s Renewed Splendor. The adventure of recovering the state of Guanajuato’s historical heritage began twenty years ago, when Guanajuato an...