Mejico Primitivo is located on the right side of Calle 13 going toward Plaza las Glorias. It's a cross between an art shop and a museum, or maybe it's a museum where you can buy the artifacts. Mejico is spelled the way it was in earlier times, with a "j" instead of an "x," to emphasize the historical aspects of the collection. I spent a delightful half hour there, browsing among all the exhibits.
Unlike other curio stores, Mejico Primitivo specializes in Indian art and artifacts. The Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua are featured prominently. Artworks of the Huichol of Nayarit, and other tribes from Oaxaca, Zapotecas, and Chiapas also have a place.
Some of the things that attracted me were whimsical animal figures from Guerrero painted in bright colors--a hedgehog with bristles, a pig's face, a tortoise. On a wall above them were little figures that looked like three-dimensional paper dolls--flattened bodies yet with some thickness.
Another object that intrigued me was a jar painted in bright red enamel with designs in other colors. The lid had a scalloped edge that fitted closely into matching scallops on the jar. On the floor a huge storage olla with a fat body and a head with open mouth gaped at me. On the walls colorful tin butterflies caught and reflected the light. In another room wooden screens, drums, crucifixes, ladders, and chairs were crowded together. A wooden wardrobe was decorated with huge wooden stars for a 3-dimensional effect. Hanging on the wall I noticed a beautiful smock of white cotton with bright red and blue accents.
Marta Leticia, the young woman attending the store, took me into another room and showed me a collection of Pancho Villa photos and documents prominently displayed on the wall. I didn't ask, but I doubt if they are for sale. I couldn't remember for sure, but I looked it up, and found out that Villa was part Indian.
The museum aspect of the store is most evident in one room that houses a number of antique artifacts from old ranches. Among them are oblong wooden bowls used for making masa, old plowshares and ox yokes, wooden pulleys and winches for wells, a Jewish menorah, and some dolls.
One of the most interesting things I saw was a device for securing a prisoner's wrists made of two boards with cut-out notches, that could be padlocked together. It was similar to what in English is known as a pillory, except that the pillory usually had a notch for the head also. This Mexican device was called "esposas," (spouses). Interesting.
If you want to find something a little out of the ordinary for a special gift, or would just like to spend some time absorbing the history and culture of Mexico, visit Mejico Primitivo.
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